Video: How Leeds crooks minted £500,000 in forged banknotes

Lee Mitchell, the skilled printer behind the forgeries and his assistant Christopher Brooke were already awaiting sentence for their involvement with one illegal printing enterprise in Leeds when they went on the run and did the same in Wales.

Leeds Crown Court heard 318,000 in forged notes were recovered from circulation as a result of the first enterprise run from a rented house in Broad Lane, Stanningly, Leeds with 180,00 worth partially completed being seized at the property.

By the time police smashed the second operation almost another half a million pounds worth of forgeries had been circulated and paper found hidden behind a wall in a garage on the secluded farm could have produced another 4.8 million worth.

They had traced Mitchell after watching him hand over more 381,000 in one batch in a pub car park to a West Riding jeweller John Hartley for storage in his vault before onward circulation. A further 790,00 in completed notes and partial forgeries were found at the farm.

The master forger had kept his secret computer printing technique on a USB stick which was not found at the time of his first arrest.

Mitchell, 39 of Greenside, Pudsey and Brooke, 29, of Swinnow Gardens, Bramley, were each jailed for a total of 12 years two months.

Hartley, 61 of Cheltenham Road, Bradford was jailed for five and a half years and Ian Cole, 56 of Golftyn Lane, Northop, north Wales, for six years.

All four admitted conspiracy to tender or pass counterfeit currency in the Welsh offence, Mitchell admitted making counterfeit currency in Leeds and Mitchell and Brooke both admitted having equipment to make counterfeit notes.

Sentencing them Judge Paul Hoffman said the operations were sophisticated with high quality notes being produced.

They also demonstrated Mitchell's skill and expertise as a professional forger as well as his criminal determination not daunted by his first arrest.

He said there had to be long sentences to deter others since offences of that nature undermined confidence in the economic system as well as loss to the public.

The judge commended the police team and others involved in the investigation for cracking two big counterfeit operations which could have flooded the market with fake notes "which would have caused a lot of people to lose their money."

After the case Det Insp Warren Stevenson of West Yorkshire Police's Crime Division said it was a complex investigation. "Officers have been able to recover over a million pounds worth of counterfeit cash and part produced notes as well as the equipment used to create the money."

"This has prevented the notes circulating around the country and leaving residents and businesses with worthless cash."

Each of the men had their role, Mitchell and Brooke had the skills and knowledge to produce the cash, he said Cole was the facilitator and Hartley the distributor.

"They were all driven by greed and were using the fake notes to fund their lifestyles."

He said he hoped the sentences would send out a message that such operations would be traced and closed down.

"Counterfeit cash does affect the economy especially local businesses that end up with cash which is worthless."