Support The Moscow Times!

Crime Ring Making Fake Passports for Islamic State Detained in Moscow

Fourteen people suspected of being involved in a group that makes fake passports for Islamic State extremists have been detained in the Moscow region, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday, citing the press service of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).

The group is accused of forging passports and other documents for Russian citizens traveling to Syria to fight with the Islamic State, and for Islamic State members coming to Russia from Syria.

A large number of forged documents, stamps, prints, equipment and extremist literature were found during searches by the security services.

The suspects often changed their place of residence and used clandestine means of communication, including software that hides user data when using the Internet, according to the FSB

Earlier in February, seven alleged members of the Islamic State who were planning attacks in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Sverdlovsk region were arrested in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

The Islamic State is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

Read more