Raids Bust Colombian Smuggling Ring With Ties to Terror Group

"Colombian has dismantled a false passport ring with links to al-Qaida and Hamas militants, [that nation's] acting attorney general said Thursday after authorities led dozens of simultaneous raids across five cities in collaboration with U.S. officials. In Washington, however, Justice and Homeland Security officials were surprised by the announcement of the investigation, which they said involved people posing as members of Colombia's largest rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC _ not al-Qaida or Hamas," the AP writes. "Colombian officials said the gang allegedly supplied an unknown number of citizens from Pakistan, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and other countries with false passports and Colombian nationality without them ever setting foot in the country . . . The counterfeit Colombian, Spanish, Portugese and German passports were used to enter the United States and Europe, he said."

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