A court heard today how two young women managed to exchange up to €300 worth of false banknotes before the police were alerted and they were arrested.

Anne Antide Calleja, 20 of Gharghur and Grace Calleja, 22 of Gzira admitted in court that over the past few months they produced counterfeit €50 notes and defrauded a number of people.

Police Inspector Ian Abdilla said the two women would stop people in the street to change their €50 banknotes to smaller denomination notes.

On other occasions they used the counterfeit banknotes to buy petrol. He said that a third person was also involved and he would be arraigned tomorrow.

The inspector said one of the victims had noticed that he had been conned and noted the number plate of the women's car. He filed a police report and the accused were tracked down and arrested, along with the man who will be arraigned tomorrow.

Lawyers Andy Ellul and Vince Micallef said that their client Grace Calleja needed guidance in life. She has a two year-old son and had lost her father at a young age, living most of her life in an institute.

Defence counsel Anglu Farrugia said his client Anne Calleja was terrified of 'Steve' the man allegedly involved in the scheme and had committed the crime because of him.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri condemned the accused to three years probation.