The leader of a group of counterfeit banknotes of 50 and 10 euros was today sentenced by the Court of Coimbra to eight years in prison, for the crime of counterfeiting currency.
The 34-year-old defendant is a native of Arcos de Valdevez and is said to have started manufacturing counterfeit notes in Fão, Esposende.
The jury court proved all the facts present in the indictment, considering the statements of the accused – who denied the indictment – as “manifestly inconsistent and meaningless”, said the president of the panel of judges, while reading the sentence.
The 34-year-old man from Arcos de Valdevez was suspected of leading a group of four people dedicated to the production of euro banknotes, having produced at least 24,775 50 euro and 10 euro banknotes between 2017 and 2019 , which were distributed to several countries in Europe, through their sale on the ‘darknet’
The Coimbra Court “had no doubts about the veracity of the testimonies of the witnesses”, especially of two members of the group who were tried in a separate case for not having requested a jury court and who were sentenced to suspended sentences, with the payment of 125 thousand euros.
These testimonies were “coherent”, with “objective elements in the process that corroborate these statements brought by the witnesses”, who stated that the accused was the “head” of the group, stressed the president of the collective, stressing that the documents attached to the process would suffice to prove the facts you practiced.
The Coimbra Court, relying on witnesses and digital conversations between the accused and the other members of the group, had no doubt that the young man was ‘Colucci’, the pseudonym used by him in the ‘darknet’ to sell counterfeit notes – praised by users and considered by the Public Ministry to be of “high quality”.
Manufactured counterfeit bills in Esposende to sell on the internet
The defendant, who had been accused of two crimes – counterfeiting of currency and counterfeiting – ended up being condemned only for the crime of counterfeiting of counterfeit currency, considering the jury that counterfeiting was a behavior already covered by the crime for which he was accused. was sentenced.
“You did not express regret and, by not assuming the facts, you tried to deceive the Court and try to turn the course of events”, stressed the judge.
In the final moments, addressing the accused, the president of the collective said: “You have the capacity. Take advantage of these years in prison to realize that your abilities can be more important if directed in the right way ”.
“Capacity is not lacking. It lacks to direct it in the right direction. If you do, you may still have a good life, ”said the judge.
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