Spanish police arrested four Bulgarians and six Romanians on charges of counterfeit money smuggling.

According to the police, the Bulgarians smuggled the money to Spain where the Romanians put them in circulation.

Policemen seized the record breaking sum of 400 000 euro in forged 200 euro bills, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported on September 5 2007. The money is believed to have been forged in Bulgaria.

The bills were so well made that ultra-violet controls did not reveal them as counterfeit, DPA said.

According to Spanish police source “it could only be detected with a special mechanical procedure that not all banks have.”

It is one of the largest amounts of counterfeit money ever seized in Europe.

The detained Bulgarians and Romanians lived in Coslada and Torrejon de Ardoz near Madrid.