Monte di Procida: 100-year-old Neapolitan man arrested for shopping with counterfeit €39 bills.

UA 39-year-old Neapolitan man, already known to the police, ended up in handcuffs in Monte di Procida after attempting to pay with a counterfeit 100 euro note in a household goods shop.

The shopkeeper's cunning, who immediately recognized the counterfeit, raised the alarm, prompting the intervention of the local Carabinieri station. The man was arrested and is now in prison, charged with spending counterfeit banknotes.

Investigations revealed that the 39-year-old was not new to these practices: he had already made payments with counterfeit banknotes in other businesses in the Phlegraean town, including a tobacconist's and a beauty salon, managing to deceive the shopkeepers thanks to the quality of the carefully counterfeited banknotes.

He had two thousand euros in cash

During a search of his home, the Carabinieri seized over €2 in cash, believed to be the proceeds of illicit trafficking. The incident has rekindled alarm among merchants, especially during the summer months, when tourist areas like Monte di Procida experience a surge in traffic.

In these areas, the risk of counterfeit currency circulation is growing, compounded by the difficulty of conducting thorough checks in crowded environments. Retailers, often caught up in the frenzy of sales, complain about a lack of tools and resources to combat the phenomenon, which threatens their earnings and customer trust.

The arrest of the 39-year-old is just the tip of the iceberg of a problem that requires greater vigilance and preventative measures, especially in areas with a strong tourist vocation.