Police discover alleged counterfeit operation during city drug raid

“This was a sophisticated counterfeiting operation.”

Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Bove

BRIDGEPORT — A local man has been charged with running what police called a sophisticated counterfeiting operation out of his apartment.

Luis Martinez, 34, of Bunnell Street, who was free on bond from an April drug arrest, was charged Wednesday with first-degree forgery and conspiracy to commit first-degree forgery.

During Martinez’s arraignment Friday afternoon, Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Bove urged Superior Court Judge Kevin Doyle to set a high bond on Martinez, who is also on probation for an assault conviction in Stamford.

“This was a sophisticated counterfeiting operation,” Bove said.

Judge Doyle ordered Martinez held in lieu of $75,000 bond and continued the case to March 10.

According to police, the Statewide Narcotics Task Force had been conducting a three-month investigation into alleged fentanyl trafficking in the city. Police subsequently raided Martinez’s apartment and discovered a number of what appeared to be bleached-out $1 bills, counterfeit $20 and $50 bills and equipment for printing counterfeit currency, they said. They also found a small quantity of fentanyl, police said.

Police explained that in the counterfeiting process, $1 bills are bleached out using epoxy and other chemicals and then the images of higher amounts are printed over the bleached-out bills.

Police said when they later confronted Martinez with what they had allegedly found, he denied counterfeiting. However, police said they found counterfeit $20s in his car.