FAKE passports

Fraud is is a major service sector for professional gangland criminals. They can't operate without fake documentation, whether it's for leasing apartments to be used as brothels or to open bank accounts. Last month's raids in Spain in which police targeted Irish gangster Christy Kinahan found 500 fake passports. Kinahan's operation involved setting up a myriad of front companies through which to funnel his drug money. He also offered money-laundering services to other criminal gangs. In Dublin fake passports change hands for between €400 to €1,500. These include genuine passports which have been altered while others are fakes produced by printers in eastern Europe.