Suspected Stockholm truck attacker involved in 'extensive IDs trade' in Sweden – report
An Uzbek citizen who is the suspect in the recent Stockholm terrorist attack has allegedly come to Sweden with a purchased visa, local media reports, adding that "an extensive trade" of documents is happening in the country.
Fake ID cards, employment papers, marriage certificates and driving licenses can be bought in Sweden "right in the open," according to a report by radio broadcaster Sveriges Radio.
The Ekot show conducted their journalistic investigation in the wake of the truck attack in Stockholm, the alleged perpetrator in which has been identified by the Swedish police as a rejected asylum seeker and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) sympathizer.
READ MORE: Suspect in Stockholm attack that killed 4 & injured 15 is ISIS member – Uzbekistan FM
According to the report, citing its sources, the suspected attacker "came to Sweden with a purchased Polish visa and offered others to buy fake documents." The man also allegedly used a fake address in the country.
Claiming that the use of such fake documents is "extremely widespread" in Sweden, the report on the radio, which has been shared by numerous local media, suggested that offers selling such illegal papers can be easily found online, including on "forums for Russian speakers."
Having contacted one of the sellers, journalists said that a man from a "medium-sized Swedish city" was eager to "rent" his personal identification number and bank account, making it "possible for a paperless person" to work "legally" in Sweden.
"I have documents that I can provide. So, of course, the contract will be written on my name, while you work in peace and get the salary," the man who wanted around $280 a month for his "services," told the radio. He added that such scheme works "in 70 percent of all the workplaces" he knows.
"The trade is so risk-free that the man openly uses his phone number in online ads," the report said.
READ MORE: ‘Simply don't know where they are’: 14,000 illegal migrants vanish, Swedish police say
Citing interviews with other people from Central Asia now living in the Swedish capital, the report said that fake ID trade was especially widespread "in the underground Stockholm," where police are "almost completely absent."
‘They attack cars & personnel’: Swedish ambulance boss calls for protection in migrant ‘no go zones’ https://t.co/Txar2nUFI6#Rinkebypic.twitter.com/uVxdFPMqUl
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After the rejected refugee carried out a terrorist attack in Stockholm, police authorities have called to substantially boost the force of officers tasked with tracking down the thousands of migrants that have gone into hiding in Sweden.
A modern computer system that controls the influx of asylum seekers should be installed in police stations, Sweden's border police chief warned, adding that police should be able to do their jobs searching or checking illegal migrants without "fear that someone will yell ‘R.I.P. to them [police]."
