Spanish National Police dismantles a criminal organization dedicated to falsifying asylum seekers’ cards
Agents of the National Police have dismantled a criminal organization allegedly dedicated to falsifying the cards of asylum seekers. The criminal network charged 300 euros on average for each falsified document.
Nine of the detainees were members of the criminal network, while the other 20 were clients who bought false documents from the organization, being in the provinces of Huelva, Almería, Murcia and Zaragoza. Several members of the organization had been arrested for similar events carried out a few years earlier. Specifically, three of those involved had different arrests for false documents.
The structure of the framework was divided into two different branches, both settled in the province of Madrid but with repercussions throughout the national territory. They provided the falsified documents to their clients through face-to-face appointments if they were near Madrid or through postal shipments or parcel agencies otherwise.
The members of one of the organization’s branches were people of sub-Saharan origin, nationals of Nigeria, Mali and the Ivory Coast, in charge of distributing the cards among the migrants. The main person responsible for the other faction turned out to be a male of Colombian origin who distributed the falsified documents among people of South American origin.
The organization charged users an average of 300 euros for each falsified document. It has been estimated that, in the last four years, it would have produced more than 700 false documents, which would imply that the benefits obtained could exceed 200,000 euros.
The detection of falsified documents started the investigation
The investigation began with the detection of falsified asylum seeker documents presented by the migrants themselves to carry out various procedures, such as registering with Social Security or identifying themselves before the police and administrative authorities.
The police operation culminated in 29 detainees, of which nine people were arrested in the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona for the crimes of belonging to a criminal organization, document falsification and favoring irregular immigration, and 20 of them were arrested in Huelva, Almería , Murcia and Zaragoza for the crime of documentary falsification. Four entries and records have been made in the towns of Alcorcón, Móstoles and Madrid.
A total of 39 false documents have been seized, 27 of which were asylum seeker cards, eight foreigner identification cards, two Guinean passports and two driving licenses. Likewise, 3,700 euros in cash, a PVC card printer, 17 mobile phones, two laptops, three electronic tablets and various documentation related to the investigation have been intervened.
