Operation targeting organised crime group of non-nationals in Ireland makes two arrests
Spanish and Irish detectives investigating an Eastern European gang involved in wholesale identity fraud here have arrested two people today.
A 45-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man were arrested and detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 at Blanchardstown Garda Station in Dublin.
When detained, documents — suspected of being false identity documents — were seized with phones, financial documentation and cash.
They were found during a search and arrest operation conducted by the Garda National Immigration Bureau supported by Spanish Policia Nacional officers as part of Operation Mombasa.
A third man, aged 47, was arrested during an earlier search and arrest operation on Thursday, December 5.
The arrests happened after another arrest on Monday in Barcelona as part of Operation Mombasa.
Detectives seized what also appeared to be false documents, but also airline tickets and evidence from parcel delivery services. One person was arrested during this search.
Operation Mombasa is a multi-jurisdictional investigation that began in late 2018 and is centred on an organised crime group of non-nationals resident in Ireland.
Gang members are believed to be involved in the large-scale production and distribution of false identity and travel documents to order.
These documents, which include passports, national ID cards and driving licences, are then sent abroad via regular postal and courier services.
In addition to investigations in Ireland, there are also several related investigations into the activities of this gang underway in several other European countries including Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Britain and Finland and involved agencies in Europe such as Interpol and authorities in the US.
As well as sending them abroad, members of the gang have been using fake ID documents and identities to live and work here for years.
Operation Mombasa was established after gang members were arrested in Spain and Iceland. The investigation that followed these arrests led to the discovery that the gang had sourced false documents from Ireland.
Subsequent inquiries established that two families from Georgia living in Dublin are allegedly producing and providing false documents to other individuals across Europe.
