Two suspects were arrested in central Athens on Friday on charges of creating and selling forged travel documents via a mobile phone shop in Omonia square, which allegedly served as a front for facilitating the illegal entry, exit and stay of foreign nationals in Greece, police said.
The suspects, whose nationality was not listed, have been charged with a series of offenses, including illegal residence in Greece.
The arrests followed an investigation based on a tip-off and a subsequent raid of the shop. Searches of the premises and a residence turned up seven forged passports, three ID cards, a residence permit and two driving licenses, along with passport-style photographs and photocopies of travel documents.
Police also established that telephone connections registered under fictitious identities were allegedly being distributed through the shop.
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The two suspects were brought before the competent prosecutor.
Similar cases over the past have exposed criminal networks using seemingly legitimate businesses as fronts for producing and distributing forged documents.
In June, Greek police arrested two foreign nationals in Athens over an alleged forgery operation that authorities said produced counterfeit passports, identity cards and residence permits in a workshop in the inner-city Kato Patisia district. More than 370 forged or partially completed documents were seized, with investigators alleging that the operation supplied migrant-smuggling networks.
In a separate case reported in October 2025, five foreign nationals were arrested over an alleged document-forgery and migrant-trafficking network that used small mini markets as fronts and delivery points. Police said customers were charged up to 8,000 euros for forged documents and air travel to west European destinations.