The head of security for Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou has been arrested as part of the investigation into a gang that made fake Russian passports for their holders to gain access to Uruguayan citizenship.

The arrested man is Alejandro Astesiano, who acted as a facilitator of documents of deceased people to forge Uruguayan passports, according to Uruguayan press. So far, 20 cases of Russian citizens with Uruguayan passports have been detected.

Lacalle Pou said he was “surprised” by the arrest of Astesiano, who had a long history of investigations for fraud, theft, misappropriation and damage.

“Obviously, if you were surprised by the news, imagine who is talking, when these last five days I was out with my children and with the person who was arrested yesterday”, explained the Uruguayan president.

Lacalle Pou also highlighted the “professionalism” and “independence” of both the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police who entered the presidential residence at night to comply with an arrest warrant.