TIRANA, July 30 – Albanian police notified the arrest of nine people allegedly part of a criminal ring that issued fake identity documents that allowed others enter visa-requiring countries like the United Kingdom and the US.
On Friday, the police announced nine suspects were arrested, while one is still at large.
Police also seized equipment from a workshop where Italian and Greek documents were produced, while also saying there are leads that point to arranged, illegal marriages between some individuals with Bulgarian citizens, who are EU members and could grant them EU papers.
The documents were sold at around 8,000-12,000 euros and trafficking costs to pass by countries like Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Kosovo or Croatia avoiding official scrutiny were subject to extra money.
Albanian citizens enjoy a visa-free regime for most European countries, with the exception of the UK, while visas are also mandatory to enter the US.
With a big number of Albanians looking to leave the country and a high demand for ways to reach the US and the UK, this is not the first time this year Albanian police arrests criminal rings operating mainly with counterfeit documents and human trafficking.
