National police units in Spain carried out a coordinated operation that led to the detention of five individuals in Alicante and twelve more in the regions of Murcia and Madrid. The objective was to dismantle a criminal network involved in forging identity documents for foreigners, with the apparent aim of fueling irregular immigration and defrauding Social Security systems.
Among those detained, ten foreign nationals were found to be working without proper legal status, having secured employment under stolen identities. The identities were assigned by the networks running the operation and used to facilitate access to paperwork linked to employment. In Madrid, seven additional suspects supplied personal data in exchange for salaries and other indirect gains that benefited third parties.
Authorities note that the inquiry began in July of the previous year, after investigators uncovered a network that supplied personal data to foreign citizens through falsified documents to enable a commercial activity in a context of irregular residence in Spain. The payment of wages to workers was tied to the ongoing exploitation of personal data, with several participants anticipating future unemployment benefits and pension contributions based on those forged records.
First arrests
Early steps in the investigation led to the initial arrests of key figures responsible for document forgery and the usurpation of civil status in Murcia and Alicante during the first half of the year. In Alicante, several detainees included individuals with backgrounds linked to North and West Africa, including someone from Morocco and others connected to Senegal and Gambia.
Following these arrests, law enforcement intensified efforts to identify the networks that supplied personal data and bank details to those seeking to profit from the scheme. This broader inquiry eventually extended to the Madrid region, where seven more suspects resided and were found to have received pay slips and other indirect benefits tied to the criminal operation.
All of the accused were brought into custody in the latter part of August, facing charges that include usurpation of civil status, involvement in irregular immigration schemes, and fraud against Social Security systems. The case highlights how forged identification documents can enable clandestine work arrangements and the broader economic damage caused by such fraud, including undermining legitimate employment channels and straining public benefits programs.