An out-of-work printer who produced £160,000 worth of fake £20 notes has been jailed for four years.
Tony Howland, 35, from London, helped produce the fakes at a flat in Glasgow using three ink jet printers, special glue, a laminator and Bible paper.
He informed police about the operation after being given a tight deadline to produce £50,000 in counterfeit notes.
His co-accused, Victor Robertson, is already serving five years in prison for his part in the scheme.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that Howland was renting the flat in Queens Crescent having travelled to Glasgow from London.
Tight deadline
In September 2013, he received an order for £50,000 in counterfeit notes and was given a deadline of 14:00 on 15 September.
He was unable to complete the order and fled to London where he contacted the police.
When officers raided the flat in Glasgow they found the printers and £55,080 of fake Royal Bank of Scotland notes - many of them lying on the floor drying.
About £160,000 was produced in fake notes and police believe that £73,000 were taken from the flat and distributed.
Howland claimed that he thought he was coming to Scotland to manufacture novelty scratch cards, but instead was forced under duress to make counterfeit money.
The Crown acknowledged that he had received "a number of threats of violence...by text message from his co-accused" but refused to believe that he was forced into the operation.
Robertson, 41, from Glasgow, was arrested and later convicted of being involved in the counterfeit operation by making and passing notes between 18 July and 16 September 2013.
The court heard that he sent Howland a number of texts after his partner had fled to London, including one that read: "You'll get us all jail and you'll regret it."
