Netherlands: Center of Jihadi counterfeiting

Netherlands: Center of Jihadi counterfeiting


Jihadists in the Netherlands have been key in recent years in counterfeiting passports and other identity documents for attackers all over the world, including suicide bombers.

According to justice department researchers in the report "Jihadist terrorism in the Netherlands", master counterfeiters in the Netherlands provided counterfeit documents in preparation for the attack on a Western ally in Afghanistan and for Jihadists who prepared a bomb-attack elsewhere in Europe.

Counterfeiters in the Netherlands provided documents for Jihadists who wanted to travel to Afghanistan. Requests for forged passports even came from key figures in the notorious Moroccan terrorist organization Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group. There is also one known case of a counterfeit driver's license provided to a Spanish terror suspect.

The master counterfeiters produce to order, say the justice researchers, who based themselves on a full inspection of the files of 12 wide-scale, Dutch investigation into Jihadist activities between July 2001 and July 2005: "In addition a potential suicide terrorist asked them for very specific forgeries; possibly to get access to a foreign target."

How much the master counterfeiters operate internationally can be seen from the arrest of an Algerian on the Dutch border, who had 60 counterfeit documents. his arrest came after he visited mosques all over Europe in a short amount of time.

The master counterfeiters often use stolen documents, robbed in large-scale burglaries in government offices in neighboring countries, but they are technically able to also produce complete forgeries on their own. "Some have at their disposal mobile 'counterfeiting-workshops' or machines with which they can produce reasonably high-quality forgeries," according to the report. Other means which were found are: (municipality) seals, needles, markers and printing press molds.

The police also uncovered networks specializing in burglaries, where they specifically steal passports and credit cards. "Arrested burglars stated that they brought personal documents to a mosque which functioned as a meeting place for Jihadists."

One of the master counterfeiters in the Netherlands was a 40 year old Algerian immigrant who lived in the Netherlands illegally for years. According to detectives, this rejected asylum-seekers earned his pay within the illegals-circuit by counterfeiting and distributing documents and driver's licenses on a large scale.

Source: Telegraaf (Dutch)