In Talavera de la Reina (Toledo province), National Police officers carried out a large-scale operation that dismantled a criminal group involved in the fraudulent registration of Bangladeshi nationals. According to investigators, around 600 people were illegally registered through this scheme over the course of a year.
As a result of the operation, four suspects were detained, while about two hundred others are being investigated as possible participants or accomplices. Law enforcement officials do not rule out further arrests and the discovery of additional cases in other regions of the country.
How the scheme worked
The organizers operated within a well-structured system. At the top level was a married couple who owned a real estate agency in Talavera. It was through their office that fake rental contracts were processed and used for the fraudulent registration of migrants.
The second key participant was a notary, who was also detained during the operation. His office processed fraudulent documents that supposedly confirmed the suitability of housing for migrant families. These documents were then passed on to a lawyer, who, being aware of the forgery, submitted the applications for family reunification.
Scale and profits
Clients were charged between 1,500 and 2,000 euros for each such ‘service.’ Preliminary estimates suggest that the organizers’ total revenue could have reached between 900,000 and 1.2 million euros. Investigators believe that similar schemes might have been used in other autonomous communities, so the investigation is ongoing.
All those detained have been charged with forming a criminal organization, document forgery, and facilitating illegal migration. Police note that the operation was one of the largest in the region in recent years in the fight against such crimes.
