Documents forged for "legalization" abroad: network of underground printing houses exposed
Kyiv • UNN
The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police neutralized a criminal organization that massively forged and sold Ukrainian and EU documents for "legalization" abroad, detaining 9 members and exposing underground printing houses in rented apartments and houses.
The Security Service and the National Police neutralized a criminal organization that massively forged and sold documents of Ukraine and the European Union. This was reported by the press service of the SBU, UNN reports .
As a result of the operation, nine members of the group were detained in different regions of Ukraine. The offenders offered their clients forged documents for "legalization" in foreign countries, in particular in the European Union,
Details
These included fake passports, EU residence permits, as well as driver's licenses and car registration certificates. The cost of such "services" ranged from 300 to 700 US dollars. The amount depended on the type and number of forgeries. It is documented that the offenders "stamped" up to fifty orders per day.
According to the investigation, the criminal organization operated in Kyiv, Zakarpattia, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy and Dnipro regions.
The clandestine printing houses were set up in rented apartments and the defendants' own homes in Kharkiv and Mukachevo. There, the offenders installed special computer equipment and printers for printing on plastic cards using holographic film.
They offered finished products in specially created Telegram channels and sent them to customers via postal services.
During the searches at the suspects' places of residence and in their clandestine workshops, the following items were found:
- Forged documents, stamps and seals;
- equipment for manufacturing counterfeits;
- computer equipment, mobile phones and draft records with evidence of criminal activity;
- bank cards that received funds from the sale of counterfeits.
Currently, all detainees have been served a notice of suspicion under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- ч. 2, Art. 255;
- ч. 4 of Article 28, part 3 of Article 199;
- ч. 4 of Article 28, part 3 of Article 358.
One of the organizers, who is hiding abroad, was served a notice of suspicion in absentia under the same articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
