The Ministry of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia has arrested nine police officers, who are suspected of having provided false passports to members of a criminal group involved in drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
The detainees appeared before the Criminal Court on Tuesday, while the investigations were expanded to catch the perpetrators of the criminal group.
Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said officials had issued passports, abusing the identity of citizens who did not have Macedonian passports at the time.
According to him, the action against this group has lasted a long time and was carried out in cooperation with the regional investigation office at the United States Embassy in Skopje and INTERPOL.
215 persons were provided with passports, 214 of whom are foreign citizens. Among those who have received Macedonian passports are members of international criminal groups and drug cartels, who have paid up to 20,000 euros for a passport.