On 4 August 2026, the Trento-Monte Bondone local police stopped a Poland-registered articulated lorry for a roadside inspection near the customs interport. Officers identified two separate irregularities. The Ukrainian-style driving licence showed minor discrepancies in its printed graphics and anti-counterfeiting features compared with official models. A software alteration was also reportedly found in the vehicle’s engine control unit, intended to bypass anti-pollution systems. The modification most likely involved devices such as the DPF, SCR system, EGR or AdBlue, which, if disabled, allow vehicles to circumvent emissions limits.
The fake licence was detected through a close examination of the document’s graphic details and security features, which did not comply with official Ukrainian standards. This type of inspection requires specific training, and several Italian local police forces now have dedicated document-fraud units equipped with specialist tools. As for the control unit, officers were able to verify the tampering by connecting a diagnostic device to the vehicle’s OBD port to check the status of its anti-pollution systems.
The case combines three separate offences: document forgery, a breach of the Codice della Strada (Highway Code) for driving without a valid licence, and environmental violations linked to the alteration of the control unit. For international road haulage, Law 298/1974 provides for penalties which, for offences of this kind, can exceed €4,130. The lorry driver was reported to the authorities, while the vehicle was placed under administrative seizure for three months, expiring on 30 September 2026. The transport company that owns the vehicle has already paid fines totalling €5,100.
The counterfeiting of foreign driving licences, especially those from Eastern European countries, and the tampering of anti-pollution control units remain widespread practices in international road haulage. In Udine, recent checks led to the seizure of four fake licences in just a few operations, while Trento itself had already recorded a similar case in 2019 involving a Poland-registered vehicle declared as Euro 3 but with pollution levels equivalent to Euro 0. The Trento customs interport is one of the freight traffic transit points along the Brenner corridor.
