France’s border police this week busted an illegal immigration ring leasing out real French passports to migrants from sub-Saharan Africa so they could enter the country, a police source has said. “He told us he had paid 7,000 euros ($7,600) to fly from Bamako to Paris with an authentic French ID document,” the source said. Police uncovered the existence of a network in the Paris region that recruited French nationals with an immigration background to “lend” out their identity papers in exchange for several hundred euros. They then either sent their passports to somewhere in Africa by post or asked for a new passport from the French authorities with the photograph of someone else. They are now hoping to identify those who shared their passports.

Source: The Guardian May 12, 2023 07:43 UTC