Counterfeit cash gang bust in Alicante, Costa Blanca

POLICE have broken up an Alicante-based gang dedicated to the distribution of fake €5 notes.
Six people are under arrested, among them the suspected group leader, following the detection of numerous counterfeit bills in Madrid, the Valencian Community, Cataluña, Andalucia and Portugal.
Police said investigations were first launched in 2015 after registering an important increase in the number of fake notes in circulation, especially in Alicante province, and that there have been a number of operations since that time.
Police also commented on the complexity of the investigations given that members of the public do not usually think to check whether €5 notes are genuine or not, hence they do not report incidents. As a result, the information on the dodgy cash stemmed from what was detected on the finance circuit.
Different lines of police investigations led to the discovery of the falsified notes in various parts of Spain and over the border in Portugal. They also resulted in the identification of a number of individuals with police records for similar criminal activities.
Once police had pinpointed the possible origin of the counterfeit money they carried out raids on two properties in Alicante city. In one officers found 526 fake €5 notes.
Police said the success of the operation meant one of the oldest organisations specialising in fake cash circulation had been dismantled.