A substantial amount of tinned cat food, three poinsettia plants, iced tea bottles, soft drinks and packets of sweets were among the items bought by a trio using counterfeit €50 notes, a court heard yesterday.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri heard several Gozitan shopkeepers testify how the two men and a woman wearing sunglasses and wigs had gone to their shops and purchased low-value items with the €50 notes, which later turned out to be counterfeit.

They were testifying during the compilation of evidence against Jordan Azzopardi, 26, from Iklin, Naomi Tanti, 21, from Birkirkara and Silvio Camilleri, 31, also from Birkirkara.

The three are charged with knowingly making use of counterfeit currency last December.

The trio is believed to have made a profit of €500 from the change they received.

Magistrate Camilleri heard inspector Jonathan Ferris explain that several reports had been filed at the Victoria station by angry shopkeepers in mid-December.

A total of 14 shops had been cheated in the scam, he said.

One suspicious shopkeeper had jotted down the number plate of the Toyota Auris that the three were using, which was then spotted in Marsalforn.

Inspector Ferris said that police had retrieved a paper from the car containing a list of shops with a tick next to them. All the shops ticked had been hit by the scam.

The case continues. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Noel Bianco appeared for the accused.