Eight arrested in takedown of fake document distribution hub disguised as Greek travel agency
Greek, German and United States law enforcement authorities, together with Europol, have cracked down on an Athens-based migrant smuggling network. Eight members of the network, which consists mostly of Pakistani, Iranian and Turkish nationals, were arrested during the raids. The investigation leading up to the action day conducted on 24 and 25 July 2025 was initiated by the Greek authorities, who were targeting a criminal organisation engaged in document fraud and migrant smuggling. Most of the suspects already have criminal records and were known to the Hellenic Police for illegal activities, including document fraud.
During the action days, officers carried out 5 house searches and raided a travel agency used by the main suspect, dismantling a fully equipped forgery lab and seizing hundreds of counterfeit documents, passport components, biometric data sets, forgery equipment with two high-end laser printers, mobile phones, vehicles, drugs and over EUR 68 000 in cash.
The criminal network was allegedly disguised as a travel agency based in Athens, which served as a distribution hub for parcels containing false or counterfeit documents. As a legitimate business, the travel agency served to veil and facilitate the distribution of illicit documents. With each member fulfilling a specific role in the criminal organisation, the suspects used aliases to send illicit documents to recipients in various EU countries and third countries. Buyers could choose between a variety of passports, ID cards, driver’s licenses or even residency permits from various EU countries. This modus operandi can seriously impact the internal security of the EU.
Investigations show that France, Spain and the United Kingdom where among the countries where the most parcels were sent to.
The criminal organisation also facilitated migrant smuggling from Turkey to Greece, concealed migrants in a safe house in Athens, and organised secondary movements to other European countries by air using forged documents. During the action day, two undocumented migrants — an Iranian national and an Afghan national — were found in the safe house. The network had intended to smuggle them to Portugal.
Europol’s role
Europol supported the Greek case early on, which soon showed potential links with a German investigation. To facilitate the information exchange between Greek, German and US law enforcement authorities, Europol hosted a virtual operational meeting to prepare the action day. Apart from providing analytical support to the involved authorities, Europol also deployed an expert with a mobile office to Athens to provide real-time support on the spot.
