International organisation which sold Portuguese driving licences obtained with fake documents

Joint operation by police in Spain and Portugal has broken up an international organisation which sold Portuguese driving licences obtained with fake documents, selling each for an average of 1,500 €. Their main clients were eastern Europeans who, the Interior Ministry said, often bought HGV licences in this way and then went on to obtain their licence to transport goods.It’s understood the network made weekly trips from their Torrevieja base to Portugal to apply for the driving licences, and is believed to have earned income of of up to 300,000 €.The network also obtained Portuguese residence permits for their clients through marriages of convenience, charging up to 5,000 € for this service. The marriage certificates were used, along with false employment contracts, in order to obtain legal residency in Portugal.18 people are in custody.