A 46-year-old French man living in Castro Marim has been arrested this week for selling fake Portuguese identification papers and drivers’ licences over the internet.
According to Diário de Notícias, most of the bogus documents were sold to Africans who wanted to enter Europe with Portuguese nationality.
The Frenchman is understood to have used a website to promote his “business”, which he ran from his home in the small village of Azinhal, Castro Marim. It has since been shut down, says the paper.
PJ criminal police are still trying to discover how many fake documents were sold. The Frenchman, meantime, is reported to be wanted back in France for “tax fraud”.
DN says his business “did not lack interested clients”, who paid “around €1,000” for his handywork, which he sent them by email, after they had supplied “personal details”.
The man was eventually foiled by a suspect bank transfer, says DN.
A house search confirmed police suspicions. “Material used to falsify documents” as well as photographs from clients and an unlicensed gun were found.
A source from the PJ has told the Resident that the Frenchman has “been heard in court and has to report twice a week to the local police station while the investigation is in place.” He had his passport removed and is also forbidden from “contacting foreigners”.
The source added that some of the man’s alleged clients may face charges, as “they knew they were resorting to an illegal business”.
