Coin Factory Fraudsters Jailed

A Sittingbourne man has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison at Maidstone Crown Court for forgery-related offences.

The sentence follows an investigation by Kent Police's Serious Economic Crime Unit into the discovery of thousands of fake £1 coins at an isolated farm in Tonge, near Sittingbourne, on 13 May last year.

Stephen Silk, 49, unemployed of Orchard Cottages, Wises Lane, Borden, Sittingbourne pleaded guilty on 24 July 2009.

He was charged with custody/control counterfeit coin with intent, control article counterfeit protected with intent and make counterfeit protected coin with intent.

Officers from Kent Police discovered the counterfeiting factory whilst executing a search warrant for drugs. It was carefully hidden in a farm building at The Oast, Tonge Farm Corner.

Several outbuildings were let as working units and the offenders used one of them to commit their crimes. When officers entered the unit, they discovered Silk in the rear store room.

They subsequently found a secret room that had been created with wood panelling. Police described the room as being 'extremely well disguised and hidden.'

Officers found a fully functioning coin press machine, equipment to add the edge to the fake coins as well as more than 8,000 good quality forged £1 coins and about 14,000 blank yellow metal discs.

During the subsequent search, officers recovered many items used to produce counterfeit coins including coin and die moulds, real coins with wax residue, special high temperature plaster and a type of sand, called fused silica, that is resistant to thermal shock.

During the trial the court heard that a specially adapted spanner, used to fit the bolts on the edging block of the rimming machine, was found along with keys and an alarm fob to the unit.

In addition, disposable latex gloves were recovered from a bin in the hidden coin room that contained DNA from Stephen Silk.

One witness described how in the preceding eight months, activity had increased with visits to the unit up to four days a week and at weekends. Silk was often seen leaving with loaded black toolboxes and wearing rubber gloves.

(PR/GK)