Bank of Canada Announces the Recipient of Its 2011 Law Enforcement Award of Excellence for Counterfeit Deterrence

The Bank of Canada is pleased to announce the recipient of its 2011 Law Enforcement Award of Excellence for Counterfeit Deterrence. The RCMP Integrated Counterfeit Enforcement Team in Surrey, British Columbia, was honoured today during the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in Windsor, Ontario.

Accepting the award on the unit’s behalf were Superintendent Lesley Bain, Officer in Charge of “E” Division (British Columbia) Commercial Crime Section, and Sergeant Rick Koop, investigator with the team.

The fourteen members of this Integrated Counterfeit Enforcement Team are being honoured for their outstanding efforts in two major counterfeiting investigations that culminated in the arrests of six people in the Metro Vancouver area suspected of producing and passing about $300,000 in counterfeit bills across Western Canada, at a rate of $30,000 per month. 

“Two years ago, this crime ring was responsible for 80 per cent of all counterfeit notes in B.C. and about a third of all counterfeits in Canada,” said Gerry Gaetz, Chief of the Bank of Canada’s Currency Department, in presenting the award. “These officers successfully dismantled two of the largest counterfeiting operations in B.C. history, which, left unchecked, could have had a detrimental effect on confidence in our currency.”

The award was established in 2004 to recognize the work of Canadian law-enforcement personnel in deterring and preventing the counterfeiting of Canada’s bank notes.

Note to Editors:

A photo from the awards ceremony is available on Canada NewsWire.