Man living illegally in UK used fake ID to get driving licence
A MAN who had been deported from Britain smuggled himself back into the country then set about creating a fake identify for himself, a court has heard.
Edison Lici was sent back to Albania following a conviction in London but got back into the country in the back of a lorry, and then settled in Wales where he bought fake Italian documents and tried to obtain a UK driving licence.
However, the scheme was rumbled when the ID card he submitted to the DVLA was spotted as a forgery.
Swansea Crown Court heard that in September 2018 Lici was deported back to his native Albania following a conviction in Kingston-upon-Thames for criminal damage in the June of that year.
Hannah George, prosecuting, said within six months the defendant had breached the deportation order by reentering the UK, after apparently coming back into the country in the back of a lorry.
Then, in July 2019, Lici applied to the DVLA for a provisional driving licence in the name of an Italian man called Alex Passini – with his application he submitted an Italian ID card. The court heard that when the card was examined by the authorities it was found to be lacking certain key security details, and the text was in the wrong font.
In March this year the defendant was arrested in Cardiff on unrelated drugs matters – allegations which are not subject to any further action – and he gave an address in Swansea.
Miss George said immigration officers executed a search warrant at that property in June and found a fake Italian driving licence, also in the name of Passini but bearing the defendant’s photo, along with utility bills in the same bogus name for a property in Cardiff.
The prosecutor said it appeared 28-year-old Lici had been “illegally living in the UK under that name”.
Lici, of Mannheim Quay, Maritime Quarter, Swansea, pleaded guilty to knowingly entering the UK in breach of a deportation order, possessing a fake identity document with improper intention, and possessing a false driving licence when he appeared in the dock via videolink for sentencing.
The court heard in addition to the conviction for criminal damage in the UK, the defendant has motoring offences on his record from Albania.
Lisa Wilson, for Lici, said the defendant had come to Wales to be with his girlfriend, and had survived doing odd-jobs such as working in car washes, and on building sites.
She said he had bought the “poor quality” Italian documents for a “small sum”, and had intended to work as a delivery driver.
Judge Catherine Richards told Lici he had not been entitled to be in the UK at the time he used a false document in an attempt to secure a driving licence.
She said: “Had you been successful, you would have been in possession of a document that would have provided you with a legitimate identity in this country.”
Giving the defendant a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, the judge sentenced him to a total of 10 months’ prison.
Lici will serve up to a half of that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Her Honour said whether the defendant would then be deported was a matter for the authorities.