A British man been arrested after police uncovered a sophisticated factory producing fake UK driving licences on the Costa del Sol.

The clandestine operation, based in Marbella and Mijas, was capable of manufacturing up to 100 counterfeit licences a day, according to the Policia Nacional.

Officers seized 592 fake UK driving licences, more than €56,000 in cash, around $41,000 in cryptocurrency, seven blank-firing pistols and a fully equipped forgery workshop.

A second man, a Ukrainian national, was also arrested.

Police estimate the gang charged around €300 for each fake licence, meaning the documents seized alone had a potential black-market value of more than €177,000.

Investigation began with tip-off from the UK

The investigation started after British authorities intercepted four postal packages sent from Spain containing 287 counterfeit UK driving licences, prompting concerns that a large-scale forgery network was operating on the Costa del Sol.

Spanish investigators later intercepted another parcel linked to the suspects, discovering 101 additional fake licences.

Police say the organisation used legitimate courier companies to post individual envelopes containing the forged documents to buyers and distributors across Europe.

Many of the packages were addressed to people whose identities did not match the names on the documents inside, a tactic investigators believe was designed to make the network more difficult to trace.

While the majority of the fake licences were destined for the UK, investigators also identified shipments to Italy, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia.

Used as ID in the UK

Police said the gang mainly targeted customers living in Britain, where driving licences are widely accepted as proof of identity for banking, financial services and other official transactions.

This makes forged UK licences particularly valuable to organised crime groups, as they can be used to fraudulently open bank accounts, obtain loans or purchase goods under false identities.

Sophisticated forgery lab

During three searches linked to the investigation, officers uncovered a highly sophisticated counterfeit document laboratory containing industrial-grade printing and document production equipment.

The workshop included high-end laser and inkjet printers, precision scanners, laminating and heat-sealing machines, specialist security inks and holographic security features commonly used on official documents.

According to police, the equipment allowed the suspects to produce up to 100 fake identity documents every day.

The two suspects have been arrested and the investigation remains ongoing.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.