Law enforcement officials have exposed a criminal organization that was engaged in the production and distribution of counterfeit documents throughout Ukraine. The perpetrators face up to ten years in prison.

This was reported by the press service of the National Police of Ukraine.

A 27-year-old resident of the Ivano-Frankivsk region organized the illegal business, recruiting others from various regions.

The range of forged documents included passports, driver's licenses, vehicle registration certificates, and various institutional documents, including official IDs from the National Police, State Emergency Service, and Security Service of Ukraine.

The price of counterfeits depended on the complexity of the document. For instance, a driver's license cost more than 8000 UAH, a foreign passport around 2000 USD, and for 1500 USD, one could obtain a fake employment status with the SBU or National Police. There was also a high demand for counterfeit military IDs.

According to operational information, the criminals' monthly profit ranged from 2 to 3 million UAH.

Orders were accepted via Telegram, and to avoid law enforcement attention, they employed disposable SIM cards. Shipments were sent through parcel lockers that lacked surveillance cameras and were dispatched at night.

Authorities conducted over 30 searches at the suspects’ locations, uncovering blank SBU, National Guard, Armed Forces, State Emergency Service, and other official documents, as well as stamps from various state institutions, and templates for passports and driver's licenses.