POLICE in Torrevieja have busted a group who produced fake documents for East Europeans for them to mascarade as Ukraine nationals fleeing the war in order to get protected status in Spain.
Two men and a woman who ran a Torrevieja agency have been arrested by the Policia Nacional.
They recruited clients who were charged between €3,000 and €5,000 for each bogus document.
16 people from Russia, Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova have also been arrested for acquiring fake papers including marriage, birth, and death certificates in addition to Ukraine residency cards.
The police investigation started after forged documents were presented by two Russians posing as Ukraine nationals so that they could get cash and benefits under the protection order for people displaced by the war in Ukraine.
Efforts were made to track the source of the fake papers which was the Torrevieja agency with the owners charged with faking documents and promoting illegal immigration.
Officers seized a stack of material from the agency office including printing stamps and stamped papers, in addition to official documents of all kinds from countries such as Russia and Moldova.
Other items removed were an electronic sealer, a dataphone, two laminators, photographic paper and a large quantity of software used to make fake documents plus €23,500 in cash.