Over half a million fake euros seized

Bulgarian Police raided and dismantled a sophisticated counterfeit euro print shop in a joint operation with Europol on Friday, 13 May. The Bulgarian Police arrested six suspects and seized over half a million very high-quality counterfeit euro banknotes from print shops in Plovdiv and Parvomay.

The operation was realised as a joint investigation team between Europol, Bulgaria, Spain and Eurojust. Europol were able to support the investigation with analytical, technical and financial support, including providing cash to carry out tactical police measures that were crucial for the final success. Europol also coordinated and financed several significant operational meetings.

Following the raid, Bulgarian authorities requested technical support from Europol’s experts, who are assisting with the dismantling of the print shop and gathering of further evidence.

It is thought that this print shop’s counterfeit production was only in early stages, judging by the amount of additional materials seized that would be for further printing. The dismantling of this print shop and arrests of the main suspects can be seen as an important contribution to the protection of the euro. The distribution of the counterfeits was mainly oriented to countries in Western Europe.

“I am pleased to see that, through international cooperation, we were once again able to hit some advanced criminal structures  the disruption of this organised crime group is a very significant hit against euro counterfeiting. The success of this operation was made possible because of the excellent work of the Bulgarian authorities and their cooperation with Europol and other partners,” said Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol.