A trio from Bristol was caught with more than £1,000 in counterfeit currency during an illegal journey during the first coronavirus lockdown. Michael Lawrence, aged 22, was caught by police officers in Plymouth with his brother and a friend.
Michael claimed that they had travelled from Bristol to the south coast allegedly for a party and told a jury that he knew nothing about the counterfeit currency discovered in the vehicle. However, the trio failed to get their stories right with one of them saying that they were just travelling to the shop.
Plymouth Crown Court heard that the police became suspicious as they did not believe they were from the same household. This was because in April 2020, when the incident took place, nobody from outside the same household was allowed to mix and unnecessary journeys were banned.
