Fake £20 note factory raided

Police have uncovered a suspected fake money factory at a house in the Black Country, which is thought to have produced tens of thousands of pounds in fake £20 notes.

Anti-fraud officers are believed to have uncovered hi-tech counterfeiting equipment as well as a stash of £14,000 in £20 notes during the raid on a property in Maypole Street, Oldbury. Various items were seized from the house.

Cash is now being tested to see whether it is fake.

A 41-year-old man was arrested and later charged with conspiracy to produce counterfeit currency.

It is thought specialists from the Economic Crime Unit at West Midlands Police were called in after banks in the area began receiving good-quality counterfeit notes in large quantities. The £20 note is the most common target for fraudsters as it is the most popular denomination, with 1.2billion in circulation.

This is compared to 608million £10 notes and 376million £5 notes currently in circulation.

Det Chief Insp Ian Bamber, from the Economic Crime Unit, said Wednesday's police raid was an excellently executed operation, carried out by highly experienced officers.

"We hope it sends out a message that we will vigorously pursue the forgers and counterfeiters and bring them to justice," he added.

According to national figures, 290,000 fake notes were removed from the system last year. This is a drop of 24 per cent on the previous year. The notes totalled £5.6million – and the majority were £20 notes.

The Bank of England claims that compared to the number of real notes in circulation – about twobillion – the scale of the fraud is low.

The new £20 notes were brought into circulation last year and include security measures such as raised print, a metallic thread weaved into the paper, watermarks, holograms and fluorescent ink to make it more difficult to copy.