The Mossos d'Esquadra have dismantled a route for the entry of counterfeit banknotes into Catalonia after an investigation that began due to a spike in cases in the province of Girona and ended with two investigated individuals located in France. The operation concluded with a search in Pià, in the Perpignan area, and one man in prison.
The investigation outlines an unusual sequence. The first alerts were concentrated in Girona in mid-2023, but one of the incidents that allowed the net to be tightened appeared months later in Vallès Oriental, with payments in shops and a gas station committed by individuals who allegedly traveled from France in rental vehicles and with false identities.
Girona registered 382 payments with counterfeit 50 and 100 euro banknotes
The analysis of the currency counterfeiting database detected an increase in cases in the province of Girona in mid-2023. The records showed 308 payments with counterfeit 50 euro banknotes and 74 with counterfeit 100 euro banknotes.
Investigators traced the origin of these counterfeits to southern Italy. Furthermore, the European Central Bank had classified them as particularly dangerous.
With that starting point, the Mossos followed the trail of a distribution that was not limited to a single territory. The appearance of new payments outside of Girona indicated a wider mobility of the alleged perpetrators.
A payment with 18 banknotes in Vallès Oriental allowed the suspects to be identified
At the end of October 2023, a commercial establishment in a shopping center in Vallès Oriental detected a payment with 18 counterfeit 50 euro banknotes. That transaction became one of the relevant pieces of the investigation.
During November, new cases with counterfeit 100 euro banknotes appeared. One of those payments was made at a nearby gas station and allowed images of the alleged perpetrators to be obtained.
Based on those actions, the Mossos identified two individuals with criminal records in France. The investigation maintains that both traveled to Catalonia in rental vehicles and with false identities to introduce the counterfeit currency.
Granollers issued a European Arrest Warrant and the search was carried out in Pià
The progress of the case led the Court of Instruction number 2 of Granollers to issue a European Investigation Order. That instrument allowed the proceedings to be coordinated with the French authorities.
Finally, on May 26, the Mossos d'Esquadra and the French Gendarmerie carried out a search and seizure at a residence in Pià, in the Perpignan area. The operation, carried out jointly, aimed to close the route that had been used to introduce the banknotes into Catalonia.
Between May 26 and 27, the two investigated individuals testified remotely before the judicial authority. The woman remains under investigation, and the man is in prison.
The police operation has neutralized an active route for the distribution of counterfeit currency.