The Spanish National Police and the French Border Police, in a joint operation coordinated by Europol, have busted an organized cybercrime gang involved in the procurement and distribution of forged travel and ID documents for migrant smugglers.
During the raids, in which three house searches were carried out and a total of 17 people were arrested, police seized computers, smartphones, storage devices, counterfeit and genuine ID documents and photocopies of ID documents, labor certificates, administrative documents, payment cards, and cash.
According to a press release published by European Union’s law enforcement agency, the organized cybercrime gang network distributed forged ID and travel documents in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
“The documents were used by other criminals involved in the smuggling of migrants to the US, the UK and Ireland and other criminal activities (such as property crimes, trafficking in human beings, drug trafficking),” the statement of Europol reads. The criminal network was directly involved in migrant smuggling activities and logistical arrangements in return for payments starting at €8000 ($9000) per person.”
The members of the criminal gang, mainly originating from Eastern European countries, apparently also operated in Georgia and Lithuania. According to Europol, cybercriminals mainly used dark web channels to distribute forged documents, including residence permits, vehicle registration documents, driver’s licenses, and travel documents focusing on French, Romanian, Georgian, Lithuanian, and Polish IDs.
Additionally, the suspects used instant messaging apps and postal services to send the documents to their intended recipients. Messaging apps, presumably encrypted ones, were used by the group to collaborate and exchange images of documents, vehicles, and money transfer slips. Europol analysts said they linked some of this information to other ongoing investigations.
Last year witnessed a gradual shift in the methodology employed by migrant smugglers in the trafficking of human beings. Digital technology is playing a major role in the operations of migrant smugglers and they have expanded their use of social media platforms and mobile applications in order to offer their illegal services.
Human traffickers have exploited the anonymity of the internet environment to target vulnerable individuals and then exploit them via both escort websites and even dating platforms. To counter this new threat, Europol signed a working agreement with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) designed to formalize cooperation on this and other serious and organized crimes.