TROIS-RIVIERES, QC—RCMP and US Secret Service on Jan. 31 ended a years-long search for a Heidelberg GTO 46 offset press being used to make sophisticated counterfeit American $20 bills.

The machine was found along with a significant load of paper that could have been used to manufacture bogus banknotes totalling between $40 million and $200 million in American currency. 


Materials seized by authorities as part of Project Cranium

The equipment seizure was part of an ongoing investigation named Project Cranium. In May 2012, Mounties dismantled a laboratory, also in the Trois-Rivières area, used for finishing fake bills with serial numbers and holographic features.

Paper seized in 2012 featured Jackson watermarks and vertical stripes, akin to security features found on authentic notes. Four individuals were indicted on charges including possession of counterfeit money, making counterfeit money, and uttering counterfeit money.

Police say this offset press was used in a large scale
counterfeiting operation

"Those very high quality counterfeit notes were virtually undetectable to the naked eye," say RCMP. Bills were sold for the price of $30 Canadian for $100 American.