The quality of counterfeit notes in Northern Ireland is higher than ever, the PSNI has warned.
Notes from every bank and of every denomination are also being produced in greater numbers, fraud squad officers said today.
"We have discovered in the last six weeks that every banknote has been counterfeited," said Acting Detective Sergeant Geoff Allen. "Organised crime from all across the board is involved. Republican, loyalist and everything in between."
Office equipment with advanced imaging systems are being used to produce the fake currency, and the latest examples recovered by police show a greater degree of sophistication than other forgeries.
Notes with silver foils and barcodes have been found, and some counterfeiters are printing on dark paper to make detection even more difficult.
Police seized nearly £300,000 of fake currency in 2003, but the recovery rate does not include the lucrative Christmas period and January sales.
Recent weeks have seen a significant increase in the number of fake notes being reported by banks, said the police.
PA