London: An Indian national and his Philippine accomplice have been jailed for four years each for running what immigration officials described as the largest ever "passport forgery factory" in Britain.
The two are Leicester-based Mandip Sharma, 34, from India and Brando Sibayan, 38, from the Philippines. They will be deported to their countries of origin after completing their jail sentences.
At the Leicester Crown Court, the two pleaded guilty to possession of equipment for making false identity documents.
They were caught when officers from the UK Border Agency's East Midlands office paid a routine visit to question Sibayan, a suspected illegal immigrant, at his home in Leicester in January.
On searching the house, officers found eight boxes of laminated documents, passport covers and a laminating machine.
The documents included 4,000 counterfeit passports for several European Union countries including the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Italy.
Guillotine machines, forgery stamps, driving licences, national insurance cards and other forms of identification were also discovered.
Andy Radcliffe, a spokesman of the UK Border Agency's foreign national crime team, said: "We expect foreign nationals to play by the rules or we will take swift action".
The two are Leicester-based Mandip Sharma, 34, from India and Brando Sibayan, 38, from the Philippines. They will be deported to their countries of origin after completing their jail sentences.
At the Leicester Crown Court, the two pleaded guilty to possession of equipment for making false identity documents.
On searching the house, officers found eight boxes of laminated documents, passport covers and a laminating machine.
Advertisement
Guillotine machines, forgery stamps, driving licences, national insurance cards and other forms of identification were also discovered.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Thane Man Loses Rs 1.9 Crore In Share Trading Fraud Busy Schedule? This One-Pot Chhole Chawal Recipe Is Here To Save You Coast Guard Director General Rakesh Pal Dies Of Heart Attack In Chennai Student Arrested For Controversial Post On Mamata Banerjee Malala Yousafzai's Post On Taliban After Attending Taylor Swift Concert What Autopsy Report Of Kolkata Doctor Says About Injuries She Suffered Mumbai BMW Hit-And-Run Accused Says He Is Illegally Detained, Seeks Release UPSC To Introduce AI-Based CCTV Surveillance To Prevent Cheating Switzerland Offers Rs 50 Lakh For Solutions To Clear Ammunition From Lakes Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.