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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Gang jailed for £14m forged notes | Gang jailed for £14m forged notes |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nine members of a forgery gang in the UK have been jailed for producing £14m in fake notes and threatening the stability of the national economy. | Nine members of a forgery gang in the UK have been jailed for producing £14m in fake notes and threatening the stability of the national economy. |
| Terrence Riefe, 55, from Hertfordshire, got a seven-year sentence as leader. | |
| Raids on 20 premises in Essex and London followed months of covert surveillance and stopped production. | Raids on 20 premises in Essex and London followed months of covert surveillance and stopped production. |
| Judge William Kennedy told Snaresbrook Crown Court in London it was the biggest counterfeiting operation ever encountered by the Bank of England. | Judge William Kennedy told Snaresbrook Crown Court in London it was the biggest counterfeiting operation ever encountered by the Bank of England. |
| This is not some quaint cottage industry Judge William Kennedy | This is not some quaint cottage industry Judge William Kennedy |
| Passing sentence, he said: "This is not some quaint cottage industry organised by otherwise law-abiding citizens to eke out in an unusual way a few extra pounds to spend. | Passing sentence, he said: "This is not some quaint cottage industry organised by otherwise law-abiding citizens to eke out in an unusual way a few extra pounds to spend. |
| "This is a prime example of organised crime." | "This is a prime example of organised crime." |
| He said every UK citizen had suffered at their hands because the operation had attacked the stability of the national currency. | He said every UK citizen had suffered at their hands because the operation had attacked the stability of the national currency. |
| And he raised concerns that the notes had been used to fund organised crime. | And he raised concerns that the notes had been used to fund organised crime. |
| Assets frozen | Assets frozen |
| Three generations of the same family were involved in the operation, which was based in a tiny backstreet printing studio in east London. | |
| Police began their intensive surveillance operation in August last year. | Police began their intensive surveillance operation in August last year. |
| They believe millions more in fake notes are still in circulation. | They believe millions more in fake notes are still in circulation. |
| But Helen Hughes, a CPS lawyer, said the gang's assets were frozen and prosecutors would seek to confiscate them. | But Helen Hughes, a CPS lawyer, said the gang's assets were frozen and prosecutors would seek to confiscate them. |
| Police believe millions more in fake notes have not been recovered | Police believe millions more in fake notes have not been recovered |
| Three members of the Byard family were among the defendants. | |
| Gerald Byard, 55, from Hockley in Essex, was sentenced to five years, while his daughter Tracy, from Eastham in east London got four years, and his granddaughter Leigh-Nicole, 23, of Benfleet in Essex, got four years. | Gerald Byard, 55, from Hockley in Essex, was sentenced to five years, while his daughter Tracy, from Eastham in east London got four years, and his granddaughter Leigh-Nicole, 23, of Benfleet in Essex, got four years. |
| Anthony Williams, 50, of Hoxton, east London, and James Brook, from Dalston, were regarded as senior figures and received five-year sentences each. | Anthony Williams, 50, of Hoxton, east London, and James Brook, from Dalston, were regarded as senior figures and received five-year sentences each. |
| Three other gang members were also jailed. | Three other gang members were also jailed. |
| They were Paul Kemble, 42, of Islington, north London, Terence Jackson, 58, of Rochford in Essex and Patrick Wingrove, 71, of Shoreditch in east London. | They were Paul Kemble, 42, of Islington, north London, Terence Jackson, 58, of Rochford in Essex and Patrick Wingrove, 71, of Shoreditch in east London. |
| The first two received three and five years respectively, while Wingrove got three-and-a-half years for his involvement in the counterfeiting and for supplying cannabis. | The first two received three and five years respectively, while Wingrove got three-and-a-half years for his involvement in the counterfeiting and for supplying cannabis. |