The National Police and the Tax Agency have dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to the falsification of documents to regularize immigrants in Spain. The operation has resulted in, so far, a total of 61 people arrested, with most arrests carried out in the province of Zaragoza, where the network had its main base of operations. Arrests have also occurred in Barcelona, Huesca, and Teruel.
International plot with ramifications in several provinces
The investigation maintains that the criminal organization had an international scope and was based in Spain. It operated mainly from Zaragoza, although it had branches in Alicante, Murcia and Huesca. Among those arrested are the main leaders of the plot, according to the investigators, as well as people of Spanish, Algerian and Moroccan origin.
The operation has had the collaboration of the City Council of Zaragoza. The agents carried out four entries and searches in homes in the Aragonese capital, where cash, forged documents, and other materials related to the investigation were seized.
More than 5,000 people would have used the network's services
The investigation suggests that more than 5,000 people in an irregular situation would have resorted to the organization's services to process residence permits. The procedure began when clients sent copies of their passports. From that moment on, the network guided those interested throughout the entire process to try to regularize their administrative situation in Spain.
Among the services detected by the agents are the obtaining of remote registrations, the opening of bank accounts, and the management of medical certificates. The organization offered the possibility of managing part of the procedures without the need for physical displacement.
Falsification of documents and fictitious contracts
The investigators detected that the network allegedly falsified the necessary documentation to present it before the administration. Forged identity documents and fraudulent authorizations from homeowners were used. In some cases, people with a physical appearance similar to that of the person who was to register were employed to facilitate the procedures linked to the accreditation of residence.
The organization would have created shell companies to justify income in Spain and give legal appearance to the documentation presented by clients. In addition, it formalized non-existent employment contracts and processed registrations with Social Security which it later canceled a few days later.
Prices and structure of the organization
- For a fraudulent census registration, between 600 and 900 euros were charged.
- The formalization of a fictitious contract ranged between 3,000 and 10,000 euros.
- The transport of people and the delivery of associated documentation had a cost of 500 euros.
Of the 61 detainees, 18 are considered members of the criminal organization and the rest appear as clients of the plot.
The operation remains open
The investigation began after a significant increase in applications for temporary residence authorization was detected. Upon reviewing the submitted documentation, the agents verified that part of the papers provided to accredit the required conditions were not authentic. Investigators do not rule out new arrests in the coming days and the operation remains open.