Sunday

10th Dec 2023

Police raid gangs who sold forged ID papers to migrants

  • An EU passport check at the Greek-Turkish border. (Photo: ec.europa.eu)

Police in Greece and the Czech Republic have arrested 19 people suspected of forging travel documents on a ”large scale”, Europol, the EU law enforcement agency, said on Tuesday.

Sixteen people of Bangladeshi and Sudanese origin were detained in Athens on 25 May.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

They were part of a network that sent fake papers across the world via courier services. They dispatched 557 such parcels over the course of 2015.

The network provided EU passports, ID cards and Schengen visas. The price of a fake document ranged from €100 to €3,000, Europol said, depending on the quality, type and country of issue.

They were sold to people who used them to enter the EU or legalise their stay in the EU bloc.

The Czech group, where three people were arrested on 10 May, bought stolen or found identity documents and sent them to Greece for counterfeiting.

Europol said a tip-off from the Czech authorities allowed them to identify the two groups in Greece, the agency revealed.

Findings made in the course of the investigation have put police on the track of similar gangs in Austria, Italy and Spain, Europol announced.

"In the last two years we have seen criminal gangs increasingly investing more in the production of fake documents to support a growing criminal market associated with the migrant crisis," Europol director Rob Wainwright said.

Europol reported in May that bringing people illegally into the EU had turned into a lucrative business in the wake of the global refugee crisis.

Ninety percent of migrants to the EU rely on criminal networks, the agency said. It estimated human smuggling was worth €5 billion a year.

Human smuggling to EU worth €5bn a year

Up to 40,000 suspects involved in "multinational business", Europol and Interpol said. Migrants "increasingly" targeted for labour and sexual exploitation.

Child trafficking in EU on the rise

Around 67 percent of all registered victims of human trafficking in the EU are exploited for sex, 21 percent for labour, and the remaining 12 percent for things like forced begging or organ removal.

Orban's sovereignty bill seen as fresh attack on rule of law

Hungary's new sovereignty law has been criticised by the opposition as 'another dark milestone' for the country's democratic values and the rule of law — and it could bring yet another clash between Budapest and Brussels.

Analysis

How Wilders' Dutch extremism goes way beyond Islamophobia

Without losing sight of his pervasive Islamophobia, it is essential to note Geert Wilders' far-right extremism extends to other issues that could drastically alter the nature of Dutch politics — and end its often constructive role in advancing EU policies.

Latest News

  1. How Moldova is trying to control tuberculosis
  2. Many problems to solve in Dubai — honesty about them is good
  3. Sudanese fleeing violence find no haven in Egypt or EU
  4. How should EU reform the humanitarian aid system?
  5. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  6. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  7. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  8. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us