A man turns up to a shopping center with 42 pounds of coins to exchange and the police have to intervene
An attempt to pass counterfeit money ended with police intervention in Milan.
A 42‑year‑old man has arrested after attempting to pass an enormous quantity of counterfeit coins. The culprit took the knock-off currency to the Bennett grocery store in Cornaredo near Milan, Italy. He had 42 pounds (19kg) of 50‑cent coins packed in cardboard boxes, with an apparent face value of around €1,200.
He tried to feed the coins into an automatic change machine in an attempt to convert the fake currency into real cash but was unsuccessful. Store staff quickly spotted that the coins were not genuine and alerted law enforcement.
Counterfeit investigation underway in Milan
Carabinieri officers from the Cornaredo station seized all the coins. They will be examined by the Milan Anti‑Counterfeiting Unit to determine how they were produced and authorities are now working to trace the origin of the fake currency.
Investigators say the man had previously tried to steal a money exchange machine but was similarly unsuccessful. He had been living in Italy illegally since 2023 and officials executed a pending deportation order soon after his arrest.
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