NOT FERRY SMART | 

Man who spent hundreds in dodgy cash arrested boarding boat to Belfast

Borders and port police had been alerted that the vehicle was of interest to Greater Manchester Police

Today at 09:01

A 21-year-old man who bought £500 worth of goods with suspected counterfeit cash was arrested trying to get onto a ferry to Belfast, it has been reported.

He had purchased items worth £250 in a shopping centre in Manchester where he then attempted to buy the £250 trainers with suspected fake notes.

Security staff at the shopping centre that had been using CCTV to track the man’s movements were able to identify his car registration plate on Monday, June 19.

On Sunday, July 2, the same car was spotted on camera driving into Mersey Tunnel at around 5pm where the man paid cash for the toll.

The car made a journey around Wirral before entering the shipping port at Birkenhead.

Borders and port police who had been alerted that the vehicle was of interest to Greater Manchester Police and stopped it before it entered the ferry to Belfast.

Officers searched the vehicle and recovered two large batches of cash.

Designer clothes and other “high value items” were seized along with the vehicle for forensic recovery.

Some of the high value items were believed to have been purchased from multiple different retail outlets around the north west of England and paid for in cash.

Receipts concealed in a blue drinks pack all showed large transactions made in cash.

Detective Inspector James Coles of GMP’s Economic Crime Unit, said the proactive work of officers had “managed to remove suspected counterfeit cash from our streets”.

“I’d like to thank the security staff at the shopping centre for their quick response in obtaining the registration plate of the man’s vehicle, this allowed us to track its movements which ultimately led to their arrest,” he added.

“Using, distributing and creating fake bank notes is illegal and by seizing this cash, officers have been able to prevent it from being used to potentially fund further criminality within the community.”