Passport forgery suspects in Spain found not linked to terror activities

A judge has ruled that 13 members of a group recently detained for alleged passport forgery, do not have any link to Islamic terror networks.

Thirteen suspected members of an international crime gang, comprised of 10 Pakistanis, one Nigerian, one Indian, and one Briton, were among those taken into custody.

«As of today, there is no indication that the suspects belong to any network dedicated to making fake documents with the aim of providing cover to people related to terrorist movements of a jihadist nature,» said National Audience judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska in a ruling released late on Thursday.

The presiding judge has since ordered twelve of the suspects to be held in preventative detention, while the 13th was ordered to be released.

The group is believed to have ordered the theft of passports from European or US tourists in Barcelona that were then sent abroad, mainly to Thailand, where they were altered.

This highlights the need to ensure reliable counterterrorism information and justice processes when it comes to monitoring possible terrorism risks.

February 9, 2009

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