90 People Arrested in Spain for Distributing False Documents to Favor Irregular Immigration
The organization received customers through social networks in Spain, as they received half of the payment for the document, produced it in Istanbul, and the other part of the payment was paid before delivery within seven days, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
“They offered different documents; passports for €1,000, residence permits for €750, Schengen visas for €500, and circulation permits for €350, for which benefits for the organization are estimated to exceed €1,000,000,” the statement issued by the Interior Ministry of Spain reads.
The Ministry also announced that the arrests took place in 29 territories, and those arrested are accused of membership in criminal organizations, false documents, crimes against the rights of foreign nationals, usurpation of marital status, and traffic safety.
In addition, the agents seized 71 false documents, €4300 in cash, various electronic devices, and various documentation. The operation was carried out in cooperation with the Turkish Police.
“The criminal organization was offered through social networks where they advertised videos displaying false documents to transit through the Schengen territory and thus attract interested customers,” the statement also noted.
According to the Ministry, the criminal organization consisted of members who were divided into two branches of criminal activities: one with the function of receiving and collecting money from clients in Spain, mainly of Syrian origin, and the other with the function of sending false documents in Spain composed of people of Syrian nationality and operating from their centre for the production of false documents in Istanbul.
As the Ministry explains, Syrian forgers specialized in documents, where they could reproduce residence permits from community countries for €750, Schengen visas for €500, travel permits for €350, and passports for €1,000. In this regard, the agents estimate that more than 700 packages with false documentation were managed to enter Spain. Therefore the organization could have made profits of over one million euros.
Moreover, the Police, intervening in 71 false documents, found, among others, identity documents, passports, driving licenses, and residence permits that came from Spain (26), France (nine), Italy (eight), Belgium (nine), Germany (one). Hungary (ten), Netherlands (one), Switzerland (one), Bulgaria (three), Morocco (two), and Algeria (one).
Meanwhile those 90 people arrested in 26 Spanish provinces come from Alicante (ten), Almería (18), Badajoz (two), Cádiz (three), Cáceres (one), Castellón (two), Córdoba (one), Cuenca (one), Gerona (two), Gran Canaria (two), Granada (one), Guadalajara (one), Guipúzcoa (six), Huelva (seven), Madrid (nine), Málaga (one), Murcia (nine), Balearic Islands (one), Lérida (two), Palencia (one), Pontevedra (one), Soria (one), Seville (one), Tarragona (one), Valencia (one) and Vizcaya (one).
