• He had a complete laboratory at his home where he produced 20, 50 and 100 euro banknotes which he offered through the 'dark web' in exchange for 'cryptocurrencies'

• More than 500 shipments have been detected through various post offices in which he used false data to hinder their tracking.

• During the search, 30,000 euros in counterfeit banknotes and virtual currencies worth approximately 150,000 euros were seized.

April 29, 2026. Tax Agency officials, in an operation with agents of the National Police and Europol, have arrested a young man in Malaga who was hiding a clandestine laboratory in his home dedicated to the manufacture of counterfeit 20, 50 and 100 euro banknotes. He offered the counterfeit currency on the 'dark web' in exchange for 'cryptocurrencies' and distributed it to different points in Europe through parcel deliveries.

The investigation began last October, following information provided by Austrian authorities alerting them to the acquisition of counterfeit currency through the 'dark web' paid for using virtual currencies.

Police investigations made it possible to detect numerous packages destined for different countries in Europe, several of them intercepted at different points on the continent, which presented a common pattern. All of them had been sent from post offices in Malaga and contained counterfeit banknotes with face values ​​of 20, 50 and 100 euros. Investigators have confirmed the sending of more than 500 shipments, in which false data was used in the sender's identity to hinder the identification of the author, with Germany being one of the main destinations for the counterfeit currency. One of these shipments was intercepted after the arrest in our country of a young man of Asian origin who was carrying counterfeit banknotes received in a package from Malaga.

Counterfeit laboratory at your home

Once the alleged person responsible for the shipments was identified, the agents carried out two raids and searches where they located a laboratory equipped with various materials necessary for the manufacture of counterfeit banknotes – ink cartridges, holographic paper for 20 and 50 euro banknotes, two manual presses, banknote printing cutouts, two guillotines, three rolls of holographic metallic foil, four manual rollers, two embossed watermark stamps, a bottle of OVI ink and screen printing mesh. In addition, 'crypto assets' valued at 143,000 euros and a total of 28,350 euros in counterfeit banknotes were seized. The operation culminated in the arrest and arraignment of the suspect.