National Crime Agency
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Lorry driver tried to smuggle £500k fake pound coins
A lorry driver has been found guilty of attempting to smuggle half a million fake pound coins into the UK.
William Turnbull, 66, of Haltwhistle in Northumberland was intercepted at North Shields ferry terminal on 13 December 2012 as he drove his HGV off a service from Ijmuiden in Holland.
On the back of his flat-bed trailer were 18 barrels, supposedly containing washers destined for a truck dealership in Northern Ireland.
When Border Force officers inspected the barrels they found the coins concealed beneath a top layer of washers.The coins were taken away and examined by a Royal Mint specialist, who confirmed that they were counterfeit.
National Crime Agency investigators pieced together Turnbull’s movements before his arrest and discovered that he had taken a legitimate consignment out to Belgium from a company in Northumberland, before diverting to the Netherlands to pick up the fake coins and return home.
On Friday 17 April a jury at Newcastle Crown Court found Turnbull guilty of importing counterfeit coins.
He was bailed pending his sentencing at a date to be confirmed in May.
Matt Rivers, from the National Crime Agency’s Border Policing Command, said:
“This was a significant seizure involving a large quantity of high-quality fake coins, destined for the pockets of unsuspecting members of the public across the UK.
“Working with our Dutch colleagues we were able to piece together Turnbull’s movements and disprove his story that he was unaware of the illegal load he was carrying.
“Investigations into the wider criminal networks involved in the production and distribution of these coins continue both in the UK and in the Netherlands.”
Five people arrested in the Sussex area by the NCA in January on suspicion of offences relating to the supply and importation of counterfeit pound coins remain on bail pending further enquiries.
