İstanbul police have seized a total of $271,150,000 in counterfeit $100 bills in an operation in İstanbul and detained five people in connection with the counterfeiting of US currency, Turkish media reports said on Monday.
This was the largest sum of counterfeit bills seized by the police in Turkey.
The operation took place at a printing house in Esenyurt on Friday based on a tipoff that the counterfeit bills, consisting of $100 banknotes, would be put in circulation before the Eid al-Adha holiday, which will begin on Aug. 11.
The detainees include a former police chief.
Police also seized equipment used for the printing of counterfeit notes during the operation.