Cologne police catch counterfeiting trio

Cologne – Success for the civilian investigation of the Cologne Police. Officers arrested a trio of suspected counterfeiters on Thursday in a hotel in the Cologne district of Ehrenfeld. The arrest was based on an absurd trick.

As the police reported on Friday, the three men from Cameroon (35, 48 and 49) are accused of offering counterfeit banknotes for sale via an internet advertisement.

The process is also known as the “wash-wash trick”. In it, fraudsters trick their potential victims into investing large sums of money in chemicals and the resulting colored banknotes.

At a meeting, the counterfeiters then trick the buyers into believing that they can use a chemical liquid to make real banknotes from previously colored paper notes. By the time the fraud is discovered, the thieves have usually disappeared.

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In the current case, in which the seizure was ultimately made, the suspects were able to convert a high five-figure sum into over 200,000 euros.

Following a witness tip-off, civilians intervened on Thursday and arrested the suspected counterfeiters!

The investigators also seized extensive evidence and two cars.

The criminal police are now also investigating whether the arrested trio were actually staying in Germany legally.