Nigerian man arrested over document forging business
Following months of undercover investigation, police detain West African man who charged foreign workers, refugees thousands of shekels for fake stay permits, passports
A Nigerian national residing in Israel was arrested by the police Sunday for suspicion of running a business that forged Israeli work permits.
The suspect was detained by Sa'ar investigators, who are part of the economic unit of Israel Police, in the midst of a purchase transaction of a fake passport.
Two more suspects were arrested for aiding the forgeries. The three will be brought for a remand hearing in the Magistrate's Court in Ramla.
Police began an undercover investigation of one of the suspects, dubbed "Jerry", after receiving information about foreign workers and refugees holding fake stay permits.
The information led to a Nigerian national, who lives in Israel and is married to an Israeli citizen.
According to the investigation, the method in which the business operated was fairly simple: Because of his nationality, "Jerry" had access to places where foreign workers and refugees gathered, looking for stay permits in order to continue working in Israel without fearing the police.
Investigators say the suspect charged sums ranging between NIS 5,000-10,000 (about $1,322 - 2,647) for each fake document, then turned to sub-contractors whom he worked with that would produce the forged document with the client's photograph.
The police believe "Jerry" managed to issue many illegal documents prior to his arrest on Sunday,
following a lead on a transaction that was about to take place.
Investigators ambushed the suspect, documented his activity on camera – and arrested him after the transaction was completed.
