Moroccan authorities announced on Saturday that they have dismantled a network used to forge official documents to obtain Schengen visas to facilitate illegal immigration to European Union countries.
In a statement, the Directorate-General for National Security (DGSN) said it arrested 20 people in several Moroccan cities on Friday, including Nador (north), Oujda (east), Jerada (northeast) and the capital Rabat.
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“According to the initial elements of the investigation, the criminal modus operandi chosen by this network is to collect sums of money from each immigrant candidate in exchange for an appointment to (obtain) a visa and a file of forged documents,” the same source added. The network still faces allegations of falsifying “official and bank documents needed to create the Schengen visa application files,” according to the DGSN.
The raids seized “material used for criminal purposes,” the source said, including “false stamps from public and banking establishments, fake visa applications,” as well as “a tear gas canister, large sums of money and drugs.”
At the end of August, another network for forging official documents was dismantled by the Moroccan police in the city of Oujda.