Euro bank notes, Robberies expected to peak in January
The European police intelligence service, Europol, has revealed that €5m in new bank notes have been stolen in a series of robberies in continental Europe over the past three months.
About three-quarters of the theft was by armed gangs staging hold-ups. Most of the robberies were in Germany, France, Belgium and Italy.
Europol expects the number of robberies to peak during January, when there will be two currencies in circulation and huge amounts of cash in transit.
Police fear the notes are being sought by gangs of forgers who want to copy them in time for the changeover period.
