Huge Fake Cash Gang Busted in UK’s Biggest Counterfeit Haul
Three crooks behind the UK’s largest ever counterfeit cash racket have been slapped with long jail sentences. The Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, backed by the Bank of England and the National Crime Agency, smashed the gang after uncovering a £5.25 million stash of fake £20 notes at an industrial unit in Beckenham.
Organisers Locked Up for Years
- John Evans, 27, from Esher, Surrey, was sentenced to 10 years as a ringleader.
- Phillip Brown, 54, of Longfield, caught printing the notes, got six and a half years.
- Nick Winter, 58, owner of the industrial unit in Beckenham, was locked up for six years.
All three admitted their guilt in the conspiracy that shocked UK law enforcement.
Massive Police Crackdown
The massive probe kicked off in January 2019 when the Bank of England spotted suspicious new fake £20s. Detectives followed digital trails and secured a search warrant for Winter’s Beckenham business in May 2019. Cops found Brown mid-print with tonnes of fake notes worth a shocking £5.25 million, the biggest face-value counterfeit seizure in UK history. Brown surrendered instantly, telling officers, “You have caught me red-handed.”
A list at Brown’s home matched the colossal counterfeit sum. Winter was arrested days after returning from holiday in the US. Evans was caught after police found a secret encrypted phone linked to the scam.
Fake Notes Dumped Across South East
Despite arrests, huge amounts of phoney banknotes kept turning up. In October 2019, a dog walker spotted £5 million in fake notes dumped in Belvedere. In January 2020, another stash worth nearly £201,000 was found along railway lines. The Bank of England has taken £1.6 million of fake currency out of circulation linked to the gang.
Crackdown Message from the Authorities
“Counterfeiting funds organised crime and hits the economy hard,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin.
“John Evans was a key player in what’s likely the biggest counterfeiting conspiracy in UK history. The length of his sentence reflects the severity of this crime. Brown and Winter played crucial roles and now pay the price behind bars.”
“These criminals chase luxury lifestyles, printing money themselves to fund it, but they thought they’d get away with it. They were wrong. Crime does not pay.”
Neil Harris, National Crime Agency Counterfeit Currency Unit, added: “This operation stopped millions of pounds of fake money flooding the UK economy, protecting unsuspecting members of the public.”
“We remain dedicated to smashing illicit finance that fuels organised crime.”
