Quebec police dismantle lab making fake passports and birth certificates

Quebec provincial police say they have dismantled a Montrealarea laboratory that was producing counterfeit passports, birth certificates, driver’s licences and other official documents. The operation took place on July 8 and involved the Sûreté du Québec, Montreal police, Gatineau police and Quebec’s Forensic Science and Legal Medicine Laboratory. Investigators seized more than 250 items used to make forged documents, including passport covers, card templates, laminators and printers, along with three vehicles. Police said the lab could produce fake documents from several countries, including Canada, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Italy, as well as driver’s licences from multiple provinces and U.S. Florida. One person was arrested, later released on bail, and is facing charges including forgery, possession and trafficking of counterfeit documents, and laundering proceeds of crime.