Three men from the Midlands have been sentenced to prison following the seizure of approximately £160,000 in counterfeit cash. The discovery was made by police officers who stopped a Renault Clio on the M45 near Coventry in July 2022 and found a significant quantity of fake £20 notes on the back seat, valued at around £148,000, Warwick Crown Court was told.
The driver of the Clio, Dominic Licursi, 35, from Stonnall Road, Walsall, was identified as a central figure in the operation. Investigations revealed communications linking him to others involved, including a message indicating he had collected the counterfeit notes in Essex. The message stated, ‘Make sure it is Dom, bro. I do not deal with no-one else.’
Later that month, police uncovered a further £16,000 worth of counterfeit £20 notes in an Audi in Redditch, where Daniel Fitzpatrick, 36, formerly of St Georges Avenue, Rugby, was a passenger. The serial numbers on these notes matched those found in Licursi’s possession.
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Additional messages referenced a third individual, James Hales, 36, of Brambles Crescent, Shirley, who characterised the fake currency as ‘crumpled up’ notes. The court heard that some of the counterfeit money had even been used to settle bar bills.
Following a jury trial in August, Licursi was convicted and sentenced to four years and eight months in prison. Fitzpatrick had previously pleaded guilty and received a four-year prison sentence. Hales was given a 36-month jail term, suspended for two years.