BANGKOK, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Thailand and Spain Thursday investigated an alleged counterfeiting ring a day after arrests were made for alleged terrorists' fake passports, officials said.
Ten people were arrested in Barcelona and Thailand on suspicion of giving stolen, falsified European passports to terrorists entering Western nations, The New York Times reported.
An 18-month international probe revealed the network allegedly had London and Brussels branches, and was overseen by Muhammad Athar Butt, 42, of Pakistan, who was arrested in Bangkok, Spanish officials said.
The officials said the ring is "an important passport operation for al-Qaida" and the arrests affected "its international counterfeiting apparatus, and therefore, its capacity to operate".
Spanish police said the network was connected to Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Pakistan-based terrorist group that perpetrated attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, killing at least 163 people.
Police said the ring also provided fraudulent passports and other documents to the Tamil Tigers, the rebel Sri Lankan group defeated last year by the government.
A Thai police official said there are suspicions the network provided documents for those involved in the 2004 Madrid bombings. UPI
