Two men were jailed Thursday 20th June at the Old Bailey to a total of 21 months for their part in a counterfeiting conspiracy to produce thousands of fake £2 and £1 coins. A third man was given a suspended sentence.Anthony Dunn, 53, Tony Rees, 50, and Mark French, 46, had pretended they were running a recovery vehicle business.They rented a room inside an office block in East London and used it to set up a makeshift factory to smelt metal ingots and mould the coins.The three men used a nearby derelict vacant warehouse unit in Hoy Street, Canning Town to spray paint the coins in a gold colour before hand-finishing the counterfeits at home.The trio had enough metal to produce 57,000 counterfeit £2 coins. But they had only produced around 1,000 finished fakes when City of London Police detectives with specialist knowledge of counterfeiting, acting on intelligence, along with officers from the National Counterfeit Currency Unit (UKNCO) at the Serious Organised Crime Agency raided their illicit set-up in May 2012.Det Insp Doug Blackwood said: ‘Dunn, Rees and French had their criminal counterfeiting conspiracy all set up and were fast on their way to establishing small-scale commercial fake coin production.‘But they were rather surprised when police officers found all three of them together in the derelict warehouse where the spray painting took place.’Det Insp Doug Blackwood added: ‘There is no doubt that they could have set up a steady production of fake coins had they not been caught. There were around five to eight thousand in various stages of production when officers executed a warrant at the premises.‘It was quite a labour intensive process. Each moulded coin had to have a penny placed in the centre before it was sprayed gold and then each was finished by hand to make them appear more genuine.’Anthony Dunn, from East Ferry Road, east London was jailed for nine months.Tony Rees, from Derby Avenue, Upminster, Essex was jailed for 12 months.Mark French, from East India Dock Road, east London was given a nine month custodial sentence suspended for two years.All three had admitted a charge of conspiracy to counterfeit coins, intending they would be passed as genuine.The prosecution was successful in applying for a Serious Crime Prevention Order that places stringent restrictions on the three men for five years following their release from jail. This includes monitoring individuals’ possession of cash, mobile phones, access to premises and ownership and use of vehicles. It also prevents them from associating with one another upon their release.The City of London Police Assistant Commissioner Ian Dyson is the ACPO lead on issues relating to counterfeit currency. Assistant Commissioner Dyson said: ‘Counterfeiting currency, whether coins or notes, is not a crime without victims – fake currency is damaging to the British economy. ‘The police work closely with the Serious Organised Crime Agency, which coordinates enforcement activity nationally against those involved in producing or distributing counterfeit currency.‘Royal Mint figures suggest that around one in 35 of pound coins in circulation are counterfeit and it is estimated that more than £40 million of fake coins are in circulation. However, counterfeit £2 coins are rarer because they are more difficult to produce.’Anyone concerned about counterfeit coins can find out more information, including what signs to look for when examining coins, on the Royal Mint website.Anyone with information about persons involved in the making of counterfeit currency, banknotes or coins, should contact their local police force or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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