Bridgnorth man arrested at fake coins factory

Three men, including one from Shropshire, have been arrested and tens of thousands suspected counterfeit coins seized during a police raid on an industrial estate.

Up to 20 police officers took part in the raid on a unit on Heathmill Industrial Estate in Wombourne, Staffordshire, yesterday. Police said they discovered several thousand stamped and finished £1 coins.

They also found approximately 50,000 blank coins.

Suspected coin-pressing equipment and other large- scale machinery was also found.

A 53-year-old man, who is from the Bridgnorth area, was arrested on suspicion of counterfeiting £1 coins.

A 41-year-old, man from the Spalding area in Lincolnshire, and a 43-year-old man, from the Tipton area near Dudley, were also arrested in relation to the incident.

All three men were taken into custody at Shrewsbury Police Station, where they are expected to be interviewed.

Following the warrant, further searches were carried out at other addresses in the Bridgnorth, Spalding and Tipton areas.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards, head of CID in Shropshire, said that the warrant, issued under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act, had been executed following extensive intelligence work.

“This was a cross-border operation with Staffordshire Police, also working with Soca’s Counterfeiting Unit and involved about 20 officers,” he said.

“The suspected counterfeit coins found are very high quality and would be extremely difficult to tell apart from a genuine £1 coin.”

Officials from the Royal Mint were also present during the raid.

Regular surveys carried out by the Royal Mint since 2002 have indicated a gradual increase in the volume of counterfeit £1 coins in circulation.

The most recent survey indicated a counterfeit coin rate of just over three per cent.

Police officers say using counterfeit coins is illegal and that if anyone has a counterfeit coin, or suspects that a coin may be a counterfeit, they should hand it in to their local police station.

By James Pugh