Frontex and Europol are reporting increasing numbers of third country nationals – including Mideast war refugees – with forged passports and IDs attempting to reach European airports aboard flights emanating from Greece. The issue emerged on the forefront late last month with reports of strict “non-Schengen” border checks at German airports for passengers arriving from Greece.
According to a report by Bild on Friday, both European law enforcement bodies have discerned a “significant increase” in the number of people trying to fly out of Greece with bogus travel documents.
In terms of numbers, Bild cites 429 instances of passengers from Greece intercepted at European airports with forged passports in the first three months of the year, a figure that reached 729 in the second quarter.
The preferred destinations are Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium, while most of the individuals intercepted hailed from Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Albania and Eritrea.
Bild reports that Syrians mostly use Greek or Italian IDs, or German and Syrian passports. On the other hand, most Afghans attempting to illegally enter another European country carrying forged French and South Korean passports.
