Man arrested attempting to flee the country after buying trainers with suspected counterfeit notes in Manchester

As part of Operation Notes, GMP’s response to tackling counterfeit currency, detectives from GMP’s Economic Crime Unit have made an arrest and seized £500 of suspected counterfeit notes and high value items.

The arrest comes after an investigation by GMP’s Economic Crime Unit into counterfeit currency being used in stores in Manchester.

Suspected counterfeit bank notes

Enquiries suggest that on Monday 19 June 2023, at a shopping centre in Manchester, a man purchased items to the value of £250, and further attempted to buy a £250 pair of trainers with money suspected to be counterfeit.

Security staff were then able to use CCTV to follow his movements through the shopping centre and to his vehicle to obtain a registration plate as he got into his car.

On Sunday 2 July 2023, at around 5pm, the same vehicle was spotted on camera as it entered the Mersey Tunnel in Merseyside, at this point the man had paid cash for the tunnel usage. The vehicle then made a journey around the Wirral before entering the shipping port of Birkenhead. At this time, the borders and port police had been made aware of the vehicle and that it is of interest to Greater Manchester Police.

The vehicle was stopped before entering the ferry where the man and vehicle would have been on the way to Belfast, Ireland.

During a search of the vehicle, officers recovered two large batches of cash, along with designer clothes and high value items, these were seized along with the vehicle for forensic recovery for checks to see if they were used in any other criminal activity.

Some of the high value items were believed to have been purchased from multiple different retail outlets around the North West and paid for in cash with receipts kept concealed in a blue drinks pack were seized. The receipts all show large transactions made in cash.

High value items seized from vehicle 

A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possessing counterfeit currency. He remains in police custody for questioning.

Detective Inspector James Coles of GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said: "This is great proactive work from our officers who have managed to remove suspected counterfeit cash from our streets.

“I’d like to thank the security staff at the shopping centre for their quick response in obtaining the registration plate of the man’s vehicle, this allowed us to track its movements which ultimately led to their arrest.

“Using, distributing and creating fake bank notes is illegal and by seizing this cash, officers have been able to prevent it from being used to potentially fund further criminality within the community."