00:01:37
ITN
Forgery gang jailed for 41 yrs
Forgery gang jailed for 41 yrs
Nine members of an expert forgery gang who flooded Britain with more than £14 million in fake notes have been jailed amid chaotic scenes.The gang, which involved four generations of the Byard family, were jailed for a total of 41-and-a-half years.They produced two-thirds of the forgeries seized last year and included a great-grandmother whose sheltered accommodation was used for storage.One of the gang, 41-year-old Tracy Byard, fainted on being told she would spend the next four years behind bars and uproar in the court ensued.A family member tried to unlock the door of the dock to help her and supporters screamed abuse and insults at the court and press gallery.Passing sentence, Judge William Kennedy said: "Each of you who participated in these conspiracies were part of the biggest and most effective counterfeiting operation ever encountered by the Bank of England."He added: "At first sight, someone who had given little thought to the true nature of this enterprise might ask why this sort of offence is regarded with such seriousness. With an economy measured in trillions of pounds, does counterfeiting, even of tens of millions of pounds, really matter?"The answer to that is a resounding yes - it matters enormously. Let us not be dewy-eyed about it. 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."© Independent Television News Limited 2006. All rights reserved.
ITN | November 23, 2006
