International police effort cracks down on fake passport network in Latin America

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An international police investigation has crackdown on a trafficking network bringing Dominican migrants to Spain using fake passports. The illegal migrants passed the border controls using the look-alike method, presenting an authentic travel document of another person with whom they have an outward resemblance.

The operation has led to the arrest of 36 people, 34 of which were in Madrid. During the searches, police seized 13 passports, two fake foreign ID cards as well as cash, mobile phones and drugs. The investigation was conducted by Interpol, Ameripol and police in Spain, the Dominican Republic and Brazil.

The investigation also included collaboration with Atenas Network and its document verification office.

Inspired by the Spanish police Punto Atenas project, the Atenas Network was officially launched in December 2023 to exchange experience between partner countries of Eurofront, a cooperation program between the European Union and Latin America focused on border control and human trafficking. As part of the agreement, each country in the Atenas Network opened a national call center, hiring experts in detecting fake documents. Law enforcement agencies can use the service to check the authenticity of passports and travel documents, with queries answered within minutes, 24 hours a day.

The investigation started in October 2023 after reports from Ameripol, the international police organization gathering Latin American countries. The first phase of the operation was conducted in the Spanish capital, where police arrested citizens of Dominican original and Spanish nationality who allegedly sold their passports for around 500 euros (US$525), Spanish newspaper El Confidential reports.

Spanish police then traveled to the Dominican Republic to arrest two more members of the trafficking organization in charge of migrant recruitment and logistics. The migrants paid around 5,000 euros ($5,252) for the organization’s services.

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