CRIME gangs from Lithuania are flooding Europe with expertly forged euros and high-quality counterfeit passports and financial documents.

Many of the Baltic forgers were printers under the former Soviet regime. “Some of their fakes are so expertly done it is hard for the experts to tell them from the real thing,” a police officer said.

Slipping into Britain as tourists has been relatively easy for the counterfeit gangs from a new a member of the European Union. They use their own forged papers to stay illegally.

Their output is so prodigious that Scotland Yard has added Lithuanian forgers to its list of nationalities whose gangs are becoming an increasing menace in Britain.

The National Criminal Intelligence Service issued an alert last month that Lithuanian gangs had been buying expensive cars with forged bankers’ drafts after answering personal ads in motoring magazines. Gang members posed as Scandinavians and struck in Suffolk, Nottinghamshire, Kent, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Surrey, Kent and London.

In another recent racket, a Lithuanian forger used a college in Hampshire as a cover for smuggling in illegal immigrants posing as students. His customers were given fake passports with bogus British immigration stamps.

Police across Europe were alerted after a raid in November on underground printing houses in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas that was turning out tens of millions of counterfeit euros. Undercover squads seized eight million counterfeit notes in €100 denominations, but admit they have no idea how many fakes are still in circulation across the continent. One officer said: “They were the best fake euros ever seen.”

The gang managed to reproduce some of the euro’s safety features such as its watermark. Before they were caught the counterfeiters are believed to have sold at least €8 million (£5.5 million). Their customers usually bought up to 100,000 euros at a time. General Vytautas Grigaravicius, Lithuania’s Police Commissioner, said the gang were selling the €100 note for between €50 and €80.

A Europol spokesman said the Lithuanian forgers were careful not to draw attention to themselves by resorting to firearms and violence. They could simply set up their counterfeit factories in their own flats. The spokesman added: “They think of themselves as craftsmen and keep their distance from other gangs who use guns.”

Intelligence teams say that many of the best forgers used to work for the old Soviet regime as printers. Once Lithuania became independent they went into business for themselves. Rinas Bendzius, deputy head of the international department of the Lithuanian police, said that his team had been asked for help by forces across Europe.

UNWANTED GUESTS

Gangs from the following countries are operating in Britain, says Scotland Yard.

Albania Sex trade and people-smuggling

Algeria Drug-smuggling, benefit fraud

China Snakehead gangs control illegal immigration; also active in synthetic drugs and credit card fraud

Jamaica Yardie gangs control drug-trafficking

Kosovo Vie with Albanians for control of sex trade

Moldova People-smuggling, particularly young women

Nigeria Cocaine, cannabis trade and smuggling women

Russia Drugs and cigarette smuggling

Turkey Heroin trade and people-smuggling, for which they fight with Kurdish gangs

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