Seven men admit cash counterfeiting charges
- Published
Two of the counterfeiters, Andrew Eric Johnston and Mark Johnston, pictured leaving court
Seven men have pleaded guilty to cash counterfeiting charges in Downpatrick Crown Court.
Gareth Gorman of Queen's Avenue in Newtownabbey; Andrew Eric Johnston of Alveston Park in Carryduff and Mark Johnston of Glen Rise, Belfast pleaded guilty to the counterfeiting of money.
This included £20 Bank of Ireland, £20 Ulster Bank and 20 euros (£18) notes.
The other four men pleaded guilty to passing some of these counterfeit notes in November 2014.
They are: Samuel Terrance Horner of Best's Hill in south Belfast; James Wallace Titley Robinson of Forthriver Road in north Belfast; Alan Thompson of Drumart Drive in south Belfast and Norman Charles Titley of Killowen Street in east Belfast.
Gareth Gorman tried to conceal his face as he left court
The men had originally been scheduled to appear at Monday's court hearing in order to fix a date for trial.
However, after nearly two hours of legal discussions the men were re-arraigned.
Each man, in turn, replied "guilty" to the relevant charge put against him.
As a result of the guilty pleas, a number of other charges against the men were left on the books.
No objection to bail was put forward by the prosecution and the men left court ahead of sentencing on 16 November.