Counterfeit plant had capacity to print €200m

THE counterfeit money plant busted in Laois was “one of the biggest and most sophisticated” ever found in Europe and had the capacity to produce around €200 million worth of fake euro notes.

Highlighting the international scale of the criminal enterprise, Europol, the EU police agency, has already linked the specialist printing paper and printing equipment found at the plant to Britain, Germany and Japan.

In a statement, Europol said: “In a joint operation, Europol and the Garda have arrested four men as part of a major investigation into one of the most sophisticated money counterfeiting set-ups uncovered in Europe to date.”