130,000 euros of counterfeit euro banknotes seized in France
France is historically the country in the euro zone where the largest number of counterfeit banknotes circulate.
© CC0 Pixabay / Moerschy
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In France, no less than 130,000 euros in counterfeit banknotes were seized on Wednesday November 27 during a banal police check, according to information published this Saturday on the Actu17 site.
The suspect, a 43-year-old Senegalese man in an irregular situation, is currently in police custody.
A custody that could last 96 hours.
Advertising
Read more
"
This is the largest known seizure of counterfeit banknotes of this type of counterfeit in Europe,
" said the police, confirming the information from the Actu17 site.
The suspect was arrested in the Halles district in Paris, after a brief foot chase.
He had 200 counterfeit bills in his pockets.
At his home in Seine-Saint-Denis, the police found more than 1,000 counterfeit banknotes of 100, 50 and 20 euros, of good quality.
130,000 euros in total in counterfeit money.
The man claims to be "just a mule" within this traffic.
But he is risking a lot.
Counterfeiting or falsifying coins or banknotes that are legal tender is a crime punishable by 30 years' imprisonment and a fine of 450,000 euros.
France is historically the country in the euro zone where the largest number of counterfeit banknotes circulate.
They come from all over Italy, especially from the region of Naples, stronghold of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia.
🇫🇷 NEWS INFO17 - Paris: 130,000 euros in counterfeit money seized after a simple police check
► “To date, this is the largest known seizure of counterfeit banknotes of this type in Europe (...) they are very good workmanship and difficult to detect ”https://t.co/SYCVD29GFa
- Actu17 (@ Actu17) October 30, 2021
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Currencies
Criminality