Police arrest two criminal groups specializing in fake passports

The Moldovan police annihilated two criminal groups specializing in fake identity papers and illegal migration, announced Iurie Podarilov, department head at the Center for Combating Trafficking in Persons, at a press conference on Thursday, Info-Prim Neo reports. The first group was dismantled after the arrest on November 17 of one of its members, at the moment when he was preparing to deliver his accomplices 3 Romanian passports, 6 identity cards, 6 Romanian driving licenses, and a Moldovan identity card, all of them forged. Following further investigation the police discovered the head of the group, a 32-year-old man, who assembled a mini-printing shop in his Ciocana apartment. The police found there various identity documents, including Romanian, Bulgarian, Czech and Norwegian passports. The fees for the fake IDs ranged from 1,500 to 3,700 euros. The dealings of the second group also involved a workshop hidden in a private apartment, located on Chisinau's outskirts. If found guilty, the suspects could be jailed for up to 5 years. This year the police have annihilated over 40 groups specializing in the organization of illegal migration, and criminal cases against 183 persons have been initiated by the Center.