Four Irish people, including a 21-year-old woman, are expected to appear before a Spanish judge today, charged with attempting to smuggle £21,000 sterling in counterfeit bank notes into Spain.
A police officer said the four were arrested on Friday night after arriving at Barcelona airport on a flight from London. He said that an Irishman aged 45 was carrying a bag containing 1,050 forged £20 sterling bank notes which he attempted to change into pesetas at the currency exchange counter after coming through passport and customs control. He was accompanied by two other men, aged 28 and 35, and a woman. The arrests were made as Barcelona airport was crowded on one of the busiest weekends of the year.
The Irish Embassy in Madrid confirmed that it had been informed that four Irish citizens were under arrest, but was unable to provide any further details.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin confirmed the four were travelling on Irish passports. He said the Department had been notified of the arrests by the Irish Embassy in Madrid. The Embassy was in touch with Spanish police, and with the Irish honorary consul in Barcelona, regarding the case.
A Garda Siochana spokesman said last night he had no knowledge of the arrests.