High-ranking Guinea-Bissau officials detained for passport forgery

Three senior officials from Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to a criminal network involved in passport counterfeiting and trafficking, as well as facilitating illegal emigration, the police judiciary (PJ) said on Thursday.

According to a statement published online by the Guinean police, the three are charged with corruption, skilled forgery and criminal association.

According to the joint venture, the employees “are suspected of belonging to a criminal network involved in the trade of passports and assistance in illegal emigration.”

The arrests, the statement explained, took place as part of a police operation called XISTRA, which “was launched two months ago and involved an intensive set of surveillance and follow-up activities.”

“Important raids were carried out at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport, where the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the Judicial Police intercepted several passengers holding fraudulently issued official passports, which were sold for large sums of money,” he said.

The SP explained that “the investigation culminated in the execution of search and seizure warrants at the General Directorate of Legal and Consular Affairs, from where several documents were collected proving the illegality of the ongoing activities.”

These documents are considered “fundamental to the continuation of the investigation.”

The identities of the suspects were not disclosed, nor were the functions they performed at the Foreign Office, “so as not to compromise the investigation,” which is still ongoing.

The Guinean Judicial Police said that this Thursday the detainees will be taken to the prosecutor’s office for the first judicial interrogation and the application of appropriate coercive measures.

The SP also stated that “this operation is just one step in an ongoing effort and that there is evidence that more government officials are involved in the passport trade.”