Six members of an international ring of forgery and illegal documents trafficking, such as passports and identities, were arrested in Greece.
Greek Police collaborated with authorities in France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and the Czech Republic. The operation was held under the supervision of Europol, while it was organized by the Bavarian Police in Germany.
According to a Europol announcement, the criminal group was cooperating with a network of pickpockets, who stole passports and ID cards from tourists in the EU. The stolen documents were then sent to Greece, to be altered in illicit printshops. The illicit documents were later given to immigrants, mainly from Syria and Afghanistan, to enable their travel from Greece to Germany and other EU Member States, or to legalize their stay. It is estimated that the overall profit from this illegal business was more than three million euros.
Out of the six arrested, three are accused of forgery and violations of immigration law, while the rest for lacking the necessary documents for legal stay in Greece.
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