MIA detains 5 Georgians in cooperation with Irish and Spanish police for storing and producing fake IDs

The Georgian  Ministry of Internal Affairs has detained five Georgian citizens in cooperation with Irish and Spanish police for storing and producing fake IDs in Dublin and Barcelona on December 9, Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reports.

The detainees are accused of belonging to an organized crime group, purchasing, storing and producing counterfeit documents and facilitating illegal migration.

The crime is punishable by up to eight years in prison.

Police seized a large amount of fake IDs in the temporary homes of the detainees.

The investigation found that the detainees were sending parcels (fake IDs) periodically from Dublin to various cities of Spain, which were then used by Georgian citizens to move to Ireland and other European countries.

The MIA reports that the investigation regarding the case began in the summer of 2018, after a number of Georgian citizens were arrested in Spain for attempting to enter Ireland with fake IDs.

The investigation identified the leaders of the criminal groups and Georgian citizens, who were using fake documents in Lithuania and Slovakia.

The MIA has conducted 12 large-scale joint police operations since January of this year with its Belgian, French, Ukrainian, Spanish, Irish, Italian and Czech counterparts, resulting in 124 Georgian nationals convicted of various crimes, including three so called ‘thieves-in-law’, reads the official statement of the MIA.