Provincial police made a dozen arrests in the Montreal area Tuesday morning as they busted up a ring specializing in fraud and identity theft.
Members of the Sûreté du Québec's Optique squad made a total of 12 arrests.
The suspects used about 5,000 stolen identities to make high-quality phony ID documents, open bank accounts, steal the assets of their targets, and fraudulently ontain government payments.
Police believe the fraudsters stole several million dollars from their victims, which include both individuals and governments.
They believe some of the cash was sent overseas to support other criminal activities.
The investigation into the ring was launched in February 2016.