ENGLISH counterfeiters with links to Dublin criminals are believed to be behind a pre Christmas wave of forged banknotes throughout the State.
Gardai have seized forged £20 notes with a face value of some £8,000 in the past two weeks and 25 people have been arrested.
An investigation is being coordinated by the National Bureau of Fraud Investigation from its headquarters in Dublin.
Garda sources said that a number of the people suspected of handling the forged notes had republican subversive connections, but there was no indication that any of the republican paramilitary groups was responsible for the counterfeiting.
Most of those suspected of paying the notes are said to be criminals with records of involvement in money and fraud.
A source of concern to gardai is the speed with which the notes' have spread throughout the Republic. Arrests have been made in Tipperary, Cavan, Roscommon and Dublin.
In pristine condition, the forged notes can be easily mistaken for genuine currency. However, they become tarnished after a relatively short period of handling.
The Garda Press Office issued a statement advising people who come into possession of suspect notes to bring them to the attention of the Garda. "If you are in possession of one of these notes, do not pass it on to other innocent people. Bring it to your local Garda station and report the matter and handle it as little as possible."
The statement emphasised that people who have come across the forged notes innocently have nothing to fear in relation to legal sanctions.