Quebec Police dismantle an underground lab in Montreal producing fake passports (5 countries)

On July 8, Quebec’s provincial police carried out a raid on a document-forgery lab in Montreal. During the search, officers seized more than 250 items used to produce fake identification documents. Among the items found were Canada and France passport covers, pre-cut bank card blanks, as well as lamination and printing equipment. Details of the operation were released on July 21 by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

The head of the Economic Crime and Cybercrime Investigation Unit, Captain Marie-Hélène Poulin, said the site may have been producing complete passports for five countries: Canada, France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Italy. The list also included driver’s licenses for six Canadian provinces, along with documents for Florida, birth certificates, firearm purchase licenses, and Quebec health insurance cards.

Poulin described the seized equipment as “highly technological,” capable of producing high-quality documents.

According to investigators, one man was arrested, but he was released after receiving a summons. No formal charges have been filed yet, but the SQ outlined possible offences: forgery of documents, trafficking in a forged document, and laundering proceeds of crime. In addition, police seized vehicles; two of them may be linked to money laundering. The investigation continues as authorities work to identify and recover funds from bank accounts.

At the same time, the statement did not specify the scale of the operation: how many documents had been produced, who the buyer(s) were, the cost of the services, or whether any of the fakes have already been circulated.

This is not the first document-forgery case in Quebec

Previously, the SQ had conducted similar operations. On March 21, 2025, police raided a document-production site on rue Chabanel Ouest in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough. At the time, officers seized nearly 1,000 counterfeit identity documents, including Quebec health insurance cards and Canadian resident cards.

In connection with that case, three men were arrested in February. They appeared in court in Joliette on charges related to producing forged documents and storing personal data belonging to other people. La Presse reported an estimate that network members may have used up to 2,400 real identities.

Whether the Montreal operation in July and the March raid on Chabanel are connected remains unclear: the SQ did not confirm that they involve the same organization.

A provincial investigation into a “federal” document

Passports fall under federal jurisdiction, but in its July announcement the SQ listed partners only from the municipal and provincial sphere: the Montreal and Gatineau police, as well as the Quebec forensic science and legal medicine laboratory. The press release did not mention the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). A similar approach was observed during the March 2025 raid.

Meanwhile, federal authorities were acting in other regions. In March, the RCMP laid charges against three men, two of whom are residents of Montreal. The case stemmed from the fact that CBSA officers found six fake Canadian passports and document-manufacturing equipment at the Peace Bridge crossing in Fort Erie (Ontario).

In 2025, document-related problems in Canada also developed in another direction. In June, the federal immigration department began suspending citizenship certificates issued under new rules for descent. However, this was not fraud—rather, it involved failure to meet the evidence requirements.

Fake immigration documents have a steady market: the more complex the requirements for proving identity, the higher the price for “workarounds.” For example, in April, Malaysia exposed a syndicate selling counterfeit MM2H stickers—about US$2,530 per unit—to Chinese citizens seeking to boost “credibility” for subsequent visa applications to the United States.

As for the Chabanel case, following its investigation the SQ prepared and will send letters to all individuals whose identities were confirmed using stolen data. Authorities are urging citizens to protect their information.

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