Police have arrested 18 members of a gang who smuggled more than 400 illegal Albanian immigrants into the UK and the US using fake French identity cards.
The operation was led by the Spanish National Police and Europe's crime agency, Europol, to break up the international crime group.
The arrests took place in the seaport of Tarragona, in Spain's north-east.
Agents also raided houses, resulting in the seizure of forged documents, financial documents, records of illegal activities, electronic equipment, cash and various narcotics, including cannabis, cocaine and synthetic drugs.
The two-year investigation has led to 46 arrests so far.
The breakthrough came when police went after a group operating in the UK and Ireland who were managing the flights and logistics for those entering the country.
It led to the identification of a key player in Spain who was enabling the operation.
“Intelligence shared by the US Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Investigations led to the identification of a high-value target in Spain,” Europol said.
“From there, the suspect and his accomplices facilitated the illegal entry of migrants through various airports in Spain and Portugal into the United Kingdom, while providing them with forged French identity cards.”
The operation in Europe is also connected to three continuing criminal investigations in the US.
“The investigation was launched in 2019 to examine the growing use of specific types of falsified documents by Western Balkan immigrants,” Europol said.
Previous phases of the investigation have led to the dismantling of a group of criminals identified on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten who smuggled Albanian immigrants with fake documents into the US.
In December last year, couriers travelling to Kosovo and Albania to distribute the fake documents were also arrested.
Four shops printing forged documents in Kosovo were dismantled in March, more than 400 migrants have been identified at airports and more than 1,000 fake documents have been seized.
Last week, in a separate investigation, the UK's National Crime Agency arrested an Afghan man accused of leading an international people-smuggling network, carrying migrants to the UK from northern Europe in lorries.
Gul Wali Jabarkhel, 32, who was detained in north London, appeared in court on Saturday.
He is accused of being a high-ranking member of an Afghan crime group with links to other criminal organisations in Belgium.
They reportedly planned to use corrupt lorry drivers to carry out the operation.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
Di Maria (41'), Mercado (48'), Aguero (90 3')
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
