Print business was front for multi-million counterfeiting gang
6 April 2011
Three Kent men who helped produce fake banknotes worth millions of pounds have been imprisoned for a total of over 24 years after SOCA surveillance on an apparently legitimate print business.
Brothers Christian and Phillip Brown, who ran the commercial printing firm, together with Mehmet Altinfincan, were key players in an operation to print and distribute fake £20 notes. To date, notes with a face value of over £17.5m which are believed to be linked to the gang have been removed from circulation.
Intelligence gathered by SOCA officers led to the Browns’ business on Portland Road, South Norwood, London, and covert surveillance established that it was a front for buying materials needed to produce counterfeit currency.
These included a toner foiling machine and rolls of foil, which, along with a computer containing images of scanned notes, were seized from Altinfincan’s home address after the three were arrested by City of London Police officers in June 2010. The contents of a shredder were retrieved from Phillip Brown’s home, and analysis of the shredded material revealed counterfeit notes printed on the back of a poster. A memory stick containing images of scanned notes in a print-friendly layout was also discovered.
SOCA’s Trevor Symes said:
“Counterfeiting is theft from hardworking people, and these criminals were attempting to rip off the UK public and legitimate business on a massive scale. They now know that producing fake currency is not easy money made under the radar. It’s a direct route to prison, on top of which it can mean restrictions on their finances, and losing the assets they have acquired through their crime.”
SOCA’s investigation identified that the three men were part of a wider organised crime gang involved in a range of organised criminal activities. Officers found a full cannabis production facility in Phillip Brown’s home, including 81 plants. Christian Brown was keeping a ‘business plan’ which set out projections for a £100,000 return on every 2-3 month cannabis plant cycle.
Counterfeit one pound coins in varying stages of completion, as well as equipment for forging one and two pound coins, were also recovered. These included a grinding machine, a smelter, a casting machine and gold spray.
Two other gang members, Daniel Brown, who is a cousin of Christian and Phillip, and Bekir Arif, were also sentenced yesterday (5 April) at Kingston Crown Court.
SOCA’s investigation was supported by the Crown Prosecution Service, Bank of England and Royal Mint.
Advice on how to recognise genuine banknotes can be found at the Bank of England website, www.bankofengland.co.uk. Members of the public who believe they have been passed counterfeit currency, or have information on its production or distribution, should contact their local police force or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.