Haul of counterfeit cash and £10,000-worth of Class A drugs uncovered by police in multi-county operation
The PSNI have seized a haul of fake cash, as well as a cache of drugs.
The investigation began when officers received a report from a business in the Lurgan area that a male had attempted to pay for fuel using suspected counterfeit currency.
The PSNI said: “Officers from Lurgan’s E-section Local Police Team attended and located the male nearby, with a search of him and his vehicle finding him to be in possession of a sum of counterfeit currency and a quantity of suspected Class A and Class B drugs.
"The male was subsequently arrested for these offences and his vehicle was seized.”
Soon afterwards, officers got a report from a woman in the Craigavon area who had recently sold something online.
The buyer was suspected to have paid £500 in counterfeit cash – and matched the description of the male in custody.
"A further search of the seized vehicle located this item and it was returned to the seller," said police.
“With the assistance of our colleagues from a neighbouring district, a property in Bangor, Co Down was also searched, where they located more counterfeit currency, a sum of cash, suspected Class A drugs with a street value of approximately £10,000 – and a scrambler that had also recently been reported as purchased from Ballymena using counterfeit currency.
"The male has been interviewed for a number of offences and bailed pending further enquiries.”
The PSNI statement, posted on its Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Facebook page, concluded: “We are seeing a large number of reports with regards to counterfeit currency, and would encourage our local businesses, and residents selling items privately, to be cautious of this and report any suspicions to us!”