The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 44, October 16, 2005, Article 15

THE IRA, NORTH KOREA, AND "SUPERNOTES"

A Reuters article on October 12th reported that "The United
States is seeking the extradition from Britain of a senior member
of an Irish Republican Army splinter group on charges of conspiring
with North Korea to circulate counterfeit U.S. currency, officials
said on Wednesday.

The indictment of Sean Garland, described in U.S. legal documents
as the leader of Irish Workers' Party and the banned Official Irish
Republican Army, comes as Washington prepares for more nuclear
disarmament talks with Pyongyang in November.

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said Garland, 71,
has been charged with involvement in counterfeiting hundred-dollar
bills. "We will be requesting his extradition from the United Kingdom,"
he told reporters."

"The U.S. Department of Justice said Garland and six others
were arrested on October 7 in Northern Ireland on charges
pending in the United States. The arrests followed a 16-year
investigation since the counterfeit bills started appearing in 1989."

"The notes "were manufactured in the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea and under auspices of the government and
transported worldwide by North Korean individuals acting as
ostensible government officials," the Justice Department said
in a statement."

The "Supernotes" first appeared in Ireland in the early 1990s
and redesigned after the United States modified its currency
to improve security, the Justice Department said.

Garland and co-conspirators, none of whom are North Koreans,
are accused of trying to buy, transport and sell fake $100 bills
in quantities of up to $1 million."

To read the complete story, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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