Fraudulent passport gang targeted in early morning NCA raids
A criminal gang that supplied fraudulent passports to some of the UK’s most notorious organised criminals has been targeted in a series of early morning raids by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Officers believe the crime group provided hundreds of UK passports that enabled criminals – including fugitives from UK justice and international drug and firearm traffickers – to cross borders and conduct business undetected.
The NCA said suspected clients of the group include Jamie Acourt, who was arrested in Spain in 2018 and later jailed for nine years for drugs offences, and Michael Moogan – one of the UK’s most wanted fugitives who was arrested in Dubai in April 2021.
The group is also suspected of providing the passports to members of high-profile Irish and Scottish organised crime groups, and to Richard Burdett, who was jailed last month alongside his brother Daniel after an NCA investigation found they had arranged the importation of 16 pistols and automatic weapons into the UK.
Jacque Beer, NCA Regional Head of Investigations, described it as one of the “most significant NCA investigations of recent times”.
A 66-year-old man from Sydenham, who splits his time between Spain, the UK and Ireland, was arrested at his home address on Monday morning (October 11). He is suspected of acting as a broker between criminals seeking to buy the passports and crime group members that supplied them.
Nine suspected members of the crime group were also detained on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice and making false instruments in NCA raids in Sutton, Sydenham, Rotherhithe, Hackney, Battersea and Hayes (Kent). They are aged between 34 and 71.
The NCA said it has been working closely with the HM Passport Office and the Dutch National Police to monitor the group’s movements. They have provided intelligence on fraudulently-obtained genuine (FOG) passports being used by fugitives which has led to numerous arrests across Europe, and in Dubai, Australia, Thailand and Brazil.
NCA officers allege the group specialised in FOGs – documents that are issued authentically but have been applied for using false information. The result is a seemingly legitimate document, and FOGs are therefore highly sought after by criminals worldwide.
They sourced individuals who were willing to sell their personal details for passport applications. It is believed payments up to £2,000 were made to those willing to provide their identity.
Another 14 people, suspected of receiving the FOGs or assisting the group through countersigning documents they knew to be fraudulent, were arrested by the NCA in Kent, Essex and Merseyside. They were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to make a false instrument and are aged between 38 and 73.
The operation, which involved more than 250 officers and was supported by the Metropolitan Police Service, followed a lengthy investigation by the NCA into the criminal network codenamed Operation Strey.
Mr Beer said: “We believe that this group’s activities has enabled some of the most serious organised criminality in the UK and around the world.
“Today’s operation has dismantled a criminal service that let drug and firearm traffickers, suspected murderers, and fugitives evade detection and operate internationally under false identities.
“It hasn’t just broken up a widespread and deep-rooted criminal conspiracy; it has led to the strengthening of safeguards against criminal exploitation of the UK passport issuing system.
“Our investigation, which continues with the evidence we have gathered today, showcases the NCA’s role in leading the law enforcement system against serious and organised crime; targeting the elite criminal specialists presenting the biggest threat to the UK.”
Security Minister Damian Hinds said: “This is a fantastic result and will do significant damage to the serious organised crime groups who want to inflict misery on our shores and around the world. The close working between the NCA and HM Passport Office has been at the heart of this hugely successful operation.
“The Government is working to make the UK border one of the most effective and secure in the world, which will also support our ambition of dismantling ruthless organised crime groups.”