A joint police force arrested 29 suspects in relation to a Montreal area fraud and counterfeiting ring this morning. Three suspects remain at large.
The operation, which involved 400 officers from the RCMP, the Sûreté du Québec and Montreal police, targeted 39 locations in Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, Blainville and Toronto.
“We are treating this operation as a priority,” said RCMP Sgt. Luc Bessette at a press conference this afternoon.
Bessette explained the counterfeiting network, which had been operating for several years, had two tiers of organization. The first group of suspects manufactured false credit, permanent residency, social insurance and health insurance cards, as well as driver’s licences from several Canadian provinces and American states. These documents were then sold through dealers as a means to make illegal purchases or fraudulent withdrawals.
The organization’s second tier, located in Montreal and Toronto, was involved in the production of counterfeit passports. The passports were first obtained through various means and were then modified by specialized members of the network.
Bessette said the counterfeit passports were of an “exceptional quality,” explaining the criminal network that produced them is “very sophisticated.”
The number of counterfeit Canadian passports currently in circulation remains unknown. However, the operation “shows no threat to Canadian security,” according to Bessette.
Today’s operation shut down two forgery labs, one at a daycare in Rivière-des-Prairies and one on Rosemont Blvd in Montreal.
To see pictures of the three wanted persons, visit the RCMP’s website.
For more information, read the RCMP’s press release.
Related: Police operation cracks down on fraud in Montreal
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