BA worker held over Heathrow migration scam goes on the run
A BRITISH Airways superviser fled the UK after allegedly masterminding a £3million immigration scam from his Heathrow check-in desk.
The suspect, 24, is said to have charged customers £25,000 a time to abuse a loophole in order to board BA flights without crucial visa documents.
Officials believe he ran the racket via his Terminal 5 base unchecked for five years before being arrested.
Now, in a seemingly huge blunder by security services, he has managed to flee to India after being released on bail and is on Interpol’s wanted list.
Police are working with counterparts in New Delhi to trace the man, who vanished with his partner, also an airport worker in ground services.
As part of the five-year scam he allegedly recruited people to fly into the UK from India on a temporary visitor visa and arranged for them to jet on elsewhere. Other clients were said to be UK-based asylum claimants who feared being returned to their country of origin.
Canadian authorities raised the alarm after years of BA flights to Toronto or Vancouver on which arrivals would immediately declare asylum. A probe found all were checked in by the same man, who allegedly falsely verified the travellers had an eTA – electronic travel authorisation – to enter a chosen country.
An eTA can be applied for by a passenger only in their country of origin, and would have been rejected without the BA official’s help. He was seized on January 6 but then handed bail, which gave him the opportunity to fly from Heathrow to India, where it is believed he has bought several homes.
A source said: “A BA worker exploited a loophole, knowing that immigration checks are no longer carried out by officials but are left to airline staff. By inputting wrong data, and claiming eTA documents had been secured, he got people to countries they had no permission to enter in the first place.
“On arrival, the bogus passengers would shred their documents and claim asylum. Others had been stuck in the UK immigration system for up to 10 years, and feared being sent back to their country of origin. It was an ingenious plan.”
Insiders say the airline terminated the contracts of the suspect and his partner and information has been given to the Met Police, Border Force and Home Office. A BA spokesman said: “We’re assisting the authorities.”