A operation realised as a joint investigation team between Europol, Bulgaria, Spain and Eurojust raided and dismantled a sophisticated counterfeit euro print shop on 13 May. The Bulgarian Police arrested six suspects and seized over half a million very high-quality counterfeit euro banknotes from print shops in Plovdiv and Parvomay (Bulgary).

Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol highlighted that the success of this operation was made possible because of the excellent work of the Bulgarian authorities and their cooperation with Europol and other partners. Bulgarian authorities requested technical support from Europol's experts, who were assisting with the dismantling of the print shop and gathering of further evidence. Europol also coordinated and financed several significant operational meetings.

The print shop's counterfeit production was only in early stages, judging by the amount of additional materials seized that would be for further printing. The dismantling of this print shop and arrests of the main suspects can be seen as an important contribution to the protection of the Euro. The distribution of the counterfeits was mainly oriented to countries in Western Europe.

To Wainwright, Director of Europol, the disruption of this organised crime group is a very significant hit against Euro counterfeiting.