Police in Spain and Thailand arrested 10 people suspected of operating a counterfeiting network that provided fake European passports to terrorist groups

Police in Spain and Thailand arrested 10 people suspected of operating a counterfeiting network that provided fake European passports to terrorist groups linked to Al Qaeda in order to smooth their entry into Western countries, the Spanish Interior Ministry said yesterday.Seven people — six Pakistanis and one Nigerian — were arrested in Barcelona in raids late Tuesday and early yesterday. Three more people — two Pakistanis and one Thai — were arrested in Bangkok in the same period, the ministry said in a statement.One of the Pakistanis arrested in Bangkok, Muhammad Athar Butt, 42, known as Tony, directed the forging operation from Thailand, according to a Spanish security official. Butt was also in charge of cells in Brussels and London, said the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was talking about a current investigation.The arrests struck at “an important passport operation for Al Qaeda, weakening its international counterfeiting apparatus, and therefore, its capacity to operate,’’ the ministry statement said, adding the raids came after a year-and-a-half-long international investigation, which is continuing.