Bogus papers ringleader jailed for 5 years
AN ALBANIAN at the centre of a Britishbased fake documents ring has been jailed for more than five years.
Arsen Baculi, 23, was arrested in east London after picking up a consignment of counterfeit documents, including a Greek passport and ID card with his picture on.
When police searched his flat in East Ham they discovered another stash of papers including a false passport, several driving licences, residency permits and construction industry cards bearing different names and images. Cocaine and electronic scales were also found.
Baculi pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey this week to charges of possessing false documents and class A drugs and was
jailed for five years and two months. He will also face deportation after serving his sentence. The investigation followed a raid on a ‘fraud factory’ in Romford, East London, last year where officers seized several stolen passports, travel and identity documents, counterfeit passport pages, holographic patches and laminate
passport coverings as well as counterfeit UK residence permits. Mark McCormack, of the National Crime Agency, said: ‘False identity documents are a key enabler of criminality in the United Kingdom.
‘The type of documents Baculi was involved in distributing could be used to open bank accounts for money laundering, or to help people illegally gain work or access services in the UK.
‘But their use could also have dangerous consequences were unqualified individuals to use them to gain employment in areas such as construction or driving.
‘Arresting and prosecuting those individuals involved in the supply of these documents will make it harder for criminals to ply their trade and help to safeguard the public.’