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Date Published: 17/07/2024

British and Norwegian suspects arrested in Murcia, Orihuela Costa and Torrevieja over identity fraud

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The criminal group created fake IDs and used them to get credit cards and phone contracts in other people’s names

British and Norwegian suspects arrested in Murcia, Orihuela Costa and Torrevieja over identity fraud

In a wide-ranging police operation spanning Orihuela Costa, Torrevieja (Alicante) and Los Urrutias (Murcia), 10 people have been arrested, including four British and Norwegian men between 20 and 46 years old, on suspicion of being members of a criminal gang that defrauded people around Spain by stealing their identities.

The gang would obtain images of original ID cards in order to modify them digitally, superimposing the photograph of another person. They then used these fake IDs to fraudulently create new phone data contracts, take out credit cards and more.

It was a highly complex operation, with a clear hierarchy that involved one ‘boss’ based in Los Urrutias who directed all the operations and decided which type of fraud to carry out with which documentation at any given time; and the Number 2 man who acted as ‘procurer’ to recruit potential ‘mules’, obtaining telephone cards or documentation with which he could impersonate the identities of the victims.

There was also one man in charge of getting new passport-style photos to be used on the fake IDs, for which he mostly sought out Irish women who were paid in exchange.

During the course of their investigation, police seized lots of false IDs, along with “instructions for obtaining documents by deception” and “lists of names of people associated with their documentation and bank account with express indications of the balance”.

They searched several houses as part of the operation, and recovered a USB memory stick with incriminating images of the original and fake ID cards on it.

They also found over 1kg of marijuana and 10 hashish pellets weighing 112.16 grams, meaning the group also face the charge of drug trafficking, along with the crimes of fraud and membership of a criminal group.

The investigations are not yet fully concluded, police have said: “New arrests are not ruled out and the search for possible suspects continues given the enormous amount of data found in the searches.”

Images: Policía Nacional

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