French and Spanish authorities took down an online marketplace selling fake identity documents to migrant smuggling rings operating within the European Union.
On May 27, law enforcement officers arrested one suspect in Alicante, Spain, and seized document-production equipment and approximately 800 counterfeit European identity documents from an apartment rented under a false name.
This investigation began after French authorities identified a website advertising counterfeit identity documents and traced the suspect to Alicante, where he had lived since 2024.
"The suspect is believed to have administered an online marketplace offering forged identity and administrative documents, in both physical and digital formats, to customers across Europe," Europol said on Thursday.
"The platform allegedly facilitated migrant smuggling operations by supplying criminal networks with fraudulent documents used to evade border controls, fraudulently obtain residence rights and facilitate secondary movements within the European Union."
