Surprising discovery this Wednesday in Blanc-Mesnil (Seine-Saint-Denis). The police got their hands on 1.5 million euros in counterfeit notes during an intervention for an attempted burglary.
It was 2 p.m. on avenue de Bel-Abbès when the police were informed by a local resident that a burglary was in progress in a house. When the patrol arrives, no thief is there. The front door is open and pieces of glass are scattered on the floor.
“The pavilion is empty and the premises appear to have been completely searched,” specifies a source close to the matter. The officials tour the home and their attention is drawn to a bag filled with 200 euro notes and a banknote counting machine.
A few minutes after this discovery, the owner of the place returned home. The agents invite her to follow them to the police station where she is interviewed freely.
Contacted this Thursday, the Bobigny public prosecutor's office confirmed that an investigation has been opened. For the moment, it has been entrusted to the financial research and intervention brigade (Brif) in Paris. Is this a foster home housing a stock of counterfeit money? Or even an accessory used for “rip deal” scams? A method which consists of exchanging real diamonds for counterfeit notes during a so-called “rotten” transaction. No avenue has been ruled out at this time.
Usually, investigations by specialized services make it possible to identify the origin of the counterfeit notes, and even their year of manufacture. Counterfeit euros are generally made in Italy by specialists who use offset printing presses. The criminals will get their supplies from the European boot. Then the counterfeit notes are then distributed to businesses very quickly. For the police, it is very difficult to trace the sponsors and traffickers from simple counterfeits.
