Raid in Naples

Deceptively genuine blossoms: 48 million euros seized

Italian police have confiscated almost one million fake 50-euro bills in deceptively genuine quality during a raid on a printing works in Naples. The public prosecutor's office put the total sum at around 48 million euros.

Seven suspects were arrested during the morning raid on Tuesday, including the alleged leader of the counterfeiting gang. They are all said to belong to an offshoot of the so-called Napoli group, which has been under investigation for some time.

According to the investigating authorities, the banknotes were seized in a print shop in an industrial area. The counterfeit money was printed using the offset process, which produces a significantly higher quality than digital printing.