MONTREAL - It's unclear how many fake Canadian passports are in circulation, police said Wednesday after arresting alleged members of a massive counterfeiting ring that produced high-quality, fake government ID cards.
The RCMP stressed there was no evidence any of those documents had fallen into the hands of terrorists.
Police made dozens of raids in Ontario and Quebec, which even saw parents at three Montreal day cares asked to retrieve their kids when the centres were shut down as alleged counterfeiting labs.
About 400 officers participated in the operations, and 29 people were arrested.
The RCMP, during a news conference on Wednesday in Montreal, stressed that police had been monitoring their suspects since 2006 and found no indication of terrorist links.
"For the time being we don't see any links with people that might considered a threat," said Sgt. Luc Bessette.
But it remained unclear just how many fake Canadian passports were in circulation. The passports allegedly produced by the ring would be tough to distinguish from the real thing.
"Is it possible there are other passports in circulation? Yes," Bessette told a news conference.
"How many, we don't know."
A single falsified passport would pass through many hands before it was completed. Some of the documents were stolen and others were bought. But police said the forgeries were top-notch.
"We're talking about an exceptional quality," Bessette told a news conference.
"Each person had a specialization and played a precise role in the manufacturing of the fake passports. . . It's not just anybody who would be able to create these passports."
The other part of the dual-structured ring allegedly specialized in producing sophisticated counterfeits of hard-to-copy products like drivers' licences from multiple provinces and from American states.
They also allegedly produced other fake IDs like permanent resident cards, social-insurance cards and health cards.
Police conducted raids at 39 places Wednesday -- including three Montreal daycares, which police said were used after-hours as counterfeit labs.
Stunned parents were met by Montreal police officers who assured them their children were never in any danger.
The accused face charges of committing an offence for a criminal organization; document, credit card and passport forgery; credit card theft; possession of equipment to used commit forgery; making false documents; fraud; conspiracy; and using a forged passport.
While the terror ties remained doubtful, the idea that such counterfeiting technology exists is disconcerting, one terrorism expert said.
"It is highly disturbing to think those operating inimical to the Canadian interest might have the technology to counterfeit among our most precious documents -- including travel documents," said David Harris, a former CSIS planner and terrorism expert.
"These things, in the hands of some people, terrorists, and certain transnational crime groups, are a weapon and a weapon that can be aimed right at us."
Bessette declined to reveal if all of the accused were Canadian citizens, referring the question to Canada Border Services Agency. A CBSA spokesman said it would take some time to process the status of the accused.
Three people remained on the lam Wednesday: Ali Ballout, 29; Adel Haddad; 49 and Bali Meta, 42.
Police were tipped off to the group's activities after a 2006 bust by police in Montreal. Officers also busted other alleged counterfeit labs, in Montreal in 2008 and in nearby Laval in 2009.
Wednesday's raids were aimed at putting the alleged ring out of business for good.
Counterfeit technology and that used by law enforcement to trace it are keeping pace with one another.
"No matter what you do to reduce the counterfeiting, someone has the technology to crack it and make acceptable counterfeits," said Chris Mathers, an ex-RCMP officer who now has his own crime and risk-consulting firm.
"The ability of criminals to perpetrate technological crimes is only limited by the knowledge of the day."
Passport Canada did not return a call seeking comment on the bust, but police said it did not appear that any of those arrested had ties to any federal or provincial agencies.
Still, Mathers said Canadians should be wary of forgery of this magnitude.
"All Canadians should be concerned about criminal activity, particularly sophisticated technology crime like this," Mathers said.
"It's important that the integrity of Canadian passports is being maintained because . . . if there's suspicion surrounding the validity or integrity of Canadian travel documents, that's going to impact on all Canadians who travel."
