Iranian man arrested for running forged document workshop

Police on Wednesday reported the arrest of a 35-year-old Iranian national operating a fully-equipped workshop for producing forged documents in the district of Agios Panteleimonas in central Athens. For the sum of 300-400 euro, the culprit was able to supply illegal migrants with both fake passports and fake residence permits, allowing them to either remain in Greece or illegal travel to other European countries.
The man was arrested on Tuesday by the Attica Aliens Coordination and Operations section, based on a tip-off. He was charged with forgery, possessing the passports of third parties and accepting and selling the products of crime.
His workshop was equipped with three computers, a scanner, two printers and other equipment used to create official documents, as well as a device for detecting false documents.
The equipment was confiscated, along with 62 passports, eight ID cards, four driving licences, a large number of passport photographs, 380 blank plastic cards including 250 with a microchip, five cell phones and 420 euro.
The suspect was led before an Athens public prosecutor.