Two foreign nationals were today jailed for four years each for their part in running the largest ever passport forgery factory in the United Kingdom.
Mandip Sharma from India and Brando Sibayan from the Philippines pleaded guilty at Leicester Crown Court to possession of equipment for making false identity documents.
The pair were caught after officers from the UK Border Agency's East Midlands office paid a routine visit to question Sibayan, aged 38, a suspected illegal immigrant, on 23 January at his home in Catherine Street, Leicester.
On searching the house, officers found eight boxes of laminated documents, passport covers and a laminating machine. One of the documents listed a house in Westbourne Street, Belgrave, Leicester.
Officers sought support from a joint team of police and immigration officers set up to tackle crime committed by foreign nationals in Leicestershire. The specialist team then visited the Westbourne Street property later the same day.
At the house officers found up to 4,000 counterfeit passports for several European Union countries including the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
Guillotine machines, forgery stamps, driving licences, national insurance cards and other forms of identification were also discovered.
An Indian male national, Mandip Sharma, aged 34, was found at the house.
The discovery was later confirmed as the largest ever passport factory in the United Kingdom according to officers from the UK Border Agency's National Documentation Fraud Unit who provided strong support to the investigation.
Sharma and Sibayan were arrested and remanded into custody. They appeared at Leicester Crown Court this morning (Thursday 7 May). Both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to four years imprisonment each.
The UK Border Agency will seek to deport both individuals back to their home countries when they have served their prison sentences.
Andy Radcliffe, from the UK Border Agency's foreign national crime team in Leicestershire, said:
"We expect foreign nationals to play by the rules or we will take swift action. This case sends out a clear message that we will not hesitate to prosecute and deport those causing harm to communities.
"Organised criminals provide forged passports to help illegal immigrants get jobs in the black economy or to obtain public services.
"But identity cards for foreign nationals will prevent this sort of abuse in the future by locking individuals down to one identity through their facial image and fingerprints."
Detective Chief Inspector Donna Thomson, who heads the Operation Rebuttal team for Leicestershire Constabulary, said:
"Organised criminals stand to make a lot of money from the trade of fake documents. We are committed to working with the UK Border Agency to continue targeting these individuals.
"Today's sentence shows anyone who is thinking of committing this type of crime they will be brought before the courts and dealt with severely."
A spokesman for the Identity and Passport Service said:
"The UK passport remains one of the most secure documents in the world. It contains a range of security measures designed to prevent and readily detect fraud and tampering.
"The introduction of biometrics into passports has further strengthened the integrity of the document."