Alex Trelinski
A WOMAN from the Dominican Republic used the identity of a deceased two-month-old baby to gain Spanish nationality before setting up a Costa Blanca-based criminal gang that operated for a decade.
11 people of Spanish and Dominican nationalities have been arrested by the Policia Nacional following an investigation lasting several months.
They had homes in Crevillente, Elche, and Elda, with further arrests not being ruled out by authorities.
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The woman with the fake ID ran companies, bought properties, and brought over family and friends from the Dominican Republic after getting them residency via committing frauds.
Once in Spain, they acted as ‘fronts’ for her criminal enterprise, appearing as bank account holders and owners of properties, while the real owners were the woman and her boyfriend.
She formed a criminal network consisting of people she trusted and bogus companies were created to give fictitious employee details to Social Security.
Unregistered immigrants would pay fees to the gang to gain access to unemployment benefits or to get residency permit renewals which totalled €28,000.
Illegally-obtained money was used to buy cheap homes that needed restoration and house deeds were put into the name of third parties.
Work on the properties were carried out by foreigners staying illegally in Spain, who were deceived and exploited until a project was completed.
The aim was to turn the acquired homes into holiday lets, with police so far discovering 16 properties purchased by the gang.
Two addresses were raided by the Policia Nacional including the woman’s home in Crevillente and another in Elda, where one of the bogus companies was based.
Various knives and guns were removed along with many false documents and a multitude of documentation of companies and money transfers made to the Dominican Republic.
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