Man jailed for keeping several fake passports in the UK
Posted on July 21st, 2009
By Janaka Alahapperuma
A Sri Lankan Tamil man found guilty of keeping a fake French passport, two forged National Insurance cards, two fake British passports and a driving licence at Croydon Crown Court in South London on Friday 17th July.
Sivabalan Durai (27), from Harrow ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”Middlesex, was arrested with three other people on July 2nd when officials from the UK Border Agency immigration swooped on a company called Super Toughened Glass, a manufacturing firm based in Willenfield Road, Park Royal, North West London. The officials raided couple of other firms in Park Royal area looking for illegal workers.
Durai, a failed asylum seeker was charged with two counts of possession of a false ID document with intent – one of which concerned a bogus French passport ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” along with two counts of possession of an article for use in fraud ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” referring to National Insurance (NI) cards ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” and three counts for possession of an identity document of another person without reasonable excuse, namely two fake British passports and a British driving licence.
Sakthivel Sanjeevan, the other Tamil man who was arrested with Durai, from Northolt, Middlesex also a failed asylum seeker. They were both arrested alongside two other glass workers. Durai pleaded guilty to all charges. Last Friday at Croydon Crown Court, the pair was jailed for four months each. The two other men arrested during the raid were bailed while the UK Border Agency works to secure travel documents to remove them from the country.
Super Toughened Glass Company has meanwhile been handed a ‘notice for potential liability’ which gives them 28 days to submit evidence to the agency that they carried out all relevant employer checks regarding migrant workers. They now face a fine of up to ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚£40,000 for employing four illegal men if they do not provide satisfactory proof.
UK Border Agency area director said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-This prosecution shows how seriously the UK Border Agency takes criminals who use false or fake identity documents. The companies could face heavy fines if they employ illegal immigrants. We now have teams of specialist police and immigration officers working side by side to investigate exactly this kind of crime. This is another example of their success.”
Agency Regional Director for London and the South East said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The Border & Immigration Agency is determined to put a stop to illegal working in London. Steps will be taken now to remove the failed asylum seekers from the countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. The immigration agency further recommended that both Tamil men, who came from Sri Lanka as refugees, should be deported when they are released from prison. But the final decision on whether they should be returned to Sri Lanka will be made by the Home Office.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ However according to the latest report issued by the Government watchdog reveals that as many as 90% of failed asylum seekers are being allowed to stay in Britain despite having no right to remain.. The backlog of illegal immigrants awaiting deportation is growing fast as the UK Border Agency fails to keep pace with the number of rejected applicants. The backlog of undecided cases doubles in every year. The number of unprocessed cases is also growing. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚