Fake-Passports Gangs Arrested in Europe Migration crisis has led to a growing market in forged documents, says Europol chief By Valentina Pop
http://www.wsj.com/articles/fake-passports-gangs-arrested-in-europe-1464702132
Nineteen people involved in the production and shipping of thousands of fake European Union passports and other documents were arrested in Greece and the Czech Republic in the past few weeks, the bloc’s law-enforcement agency, Europol, said Tuesday.
Sixteen people suspected of document forgery “on a large scale” and the smuggling of migrants were arrested in Greece last week, and three other suspects were taken into custody in the Czech Republic on May 10, Europol said.
The arrests come as migrants who arrived in the EU last year seek to legalize their stay, while others who are still outside the bloc have fewer options to enter after the route via Turkey, Greece and the Balkan countries was cut off.
The forged documents—passports from EU countries, identity cards, driving licenses, asylum-seeker registration cards, residence permits and visas to the border-free Schengen area—were shipped through courier companies to other EU countries as well as to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Europol said. They cost between €100 ($111) and €3,000, depending on the quality, type and country of issue.
In Athens, the suspected criminal network was composed of two groups—one comprising mainly Bangladeshi nationals, the other mainly Sudanese nationals. The Bangladeshi group sent at least 126 parcels containing travel documents via courier last year, while the Sudanese group sent 431 parcels over the same period, Europol said.
In the Czech Republic, a third group was accused of having purchased the stolen or lost passports and IDs before sending them to Greece to have them modified by the Athens-based groups. The final products were then shipped back to the Czech Republic and distributed through courier companies to customers abroad. The Czech group also produced fake Schengen visas.
The criminal groups in Greece relied on word-of-mouth arrangements with local brokers to publicize their services, a Europol spokesman added. CONTINUE AT SITE
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