At least three of those detained are believed to be employees at the Immigration and Naturalisation Department (IND) building and two are said to have had links previously to two former members of the Executive Council.
In a statement sent to The Daily Herald, the Prosecutor's Office said, "On Friday, January 21, 2011, seven house searches were carried out at different locations, including the Brooks Tower office at A.Th. Illidge Road. The searches took place in the presence of the investigating judge. Documents, computers and money were seized."
Detectives of the St. Maarten Police Force, the Royal Marechaussees and Kingdom Detective Cooperation Team RST are conducting the investigation into document fraud with regard to the BTA programme that allowed certain persons who had been residing illegally on the island for a long time to legalise their status.
The team of detectives will continue the investigation.
The first reports about the alleged fraud and forgeries linked to the BTA programme were published by this newspaper on January 12. It was reported then that an official Antillean government stamp had been stolen by a person unknown and that the said person was believed to be selling backdated forgeries of Brooks Towers Accord (BTA) residence papers at US $300 per set.
This newspaper's enquiries revealed that the criminal activities apparently had been taking place since around December 28-29 when a member of staff found the stamp had been taken.
First indications that the stamp was being used came when it was discovered that persons had been violating the numbering system in place at IND and jumping ahead of others in the long queues that had been forming outside that building at the time as persons sought to have their immigration status regularised before the then rapidly approaching deadline.
The stubs with the numbers being used by those violating the system reportedly bore the imprint of the missing stamp.
Reports reaching this newspaper at the time also indicated that forged documents were being produced.
The Public Relations Officer in Justice Minister Roland Duncan's office had confirmed that a stamp had been stolen and that the police were investigating. However, the PRO had urged persons who were concerned about whether their documents had been forged not to panic.
"Anyone who paid for false papers will know that they went to a separate building, clearly not an official building, and that there was an exchange of money, and that these papers were bought and not issued.
"The transaction would have been a furtive and obviously criminal one. It is not as though someone will have gotten false papers without knowing that this was the case. Those who have these papers would have known full well that they were committing an illegal act with the collaboration of the criminal in order to try to backdate their application," the PRO had explained.
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