Gang that forged Brazilian documents for Syrian nationals wanted by police

A banner with pictures of Jorge Luiz da Silva Motta, Ali Kamel Issmael, and David dos Santos Guido, members of a gang that forged documents to give Syrian nationals Brazilian citizenship, was posted Monday (Jan. 4) to a Rio de Janeiro wanted criminals website. The gang forged Brazilian birth certificates, identity cards, voter identities, and Brazilian passports.

Following eight months of investigations, police identified 72 Syrians implicated in the scam, which according to investigators ran between 2012 and 2014. The investigators further found that all implicated Syrian nationals became Brazilian nationals with birth certificates issued long after birth date, the so-called late registration.

The Bureau of Fraud Investigation found out that the Syrians did not only want to pass as Brazilians in Brazil. At least 20 of them had fake Brazilian passports. Police has no information as to the whereabouts of these passport holders, but it did learn from social media that many of them have been to such cities as Paris, New York, and London, and some even share pro-terrorist speech openly.

Translated by Mayra Borges

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