Italian authorities have cracked a network of art forgers who made and sold fake works by Warhol, Banksy, Picasso and others.

Italian police have uncovered a large-scale pan-European forgery network making and selling fake artworks attributed to some of the biggest names in modern and contemporary art, including Banksy, Pablo Picasso,

Italian authorities say they have dismantled a network of European art forgers who made fake Warhols, Banksys and Picassos and then tried to sell them with the help of complicit auction houses.

Investigators discovered six forgery workshops and seized more than 2,100 fake artworks with a potential market value of about $215 million.

The operation uncovered a network of forgers in Spain, France and Belgium who produced the works, said Eurojust, the European Union agency for judicial cooperation.

Police in Italy said they have successfully broken up a major European criminal network that was forging and selling artwork attributed to some of the biggest names in modern and contemporary art, including Banksy and Andy Warhol.

Italian police say they have exposed a vast forgery network operating across Europe, dealing in counterfeit artworks attributed to some of the most celebrated artists of the modern and contemporary eras.