It’s frightening – a terrorist or a criminal could’ve pretended to be me

THE owner of a British passport bought by the Mail yesterday told of his shock at it being touted by a people smuggler.

Brijen Hathi, a consultant from Milton Keynes, said it was stolen at a Eurostar station during a business trip in March. It was spirited to Istanbul and put on sale for £2,500.

‘It’s frightening to think it got all the way from Brussels to Turkey,’ said the 46-yearold. ‘It’s very worrying to know that someone else might have got their hands on it and tried to use it.

‘Who knows what kind of person might have been claiming to be me? It could have been anyone, even a terrorist or criminal.’ Mr Hathi said he was having chips at Brussels Midi station with colleagues when he looked down and saw his bag was gone.

‘It was a nightmare. I had everything in there – my phone, my car keys, even my loose change,’ he said.

‘But my passport was obviously the most important thing. I was stranded in Brussels until I could arrange a replacement.’

Mr Hathi spent that evening at a police station reporting the theft.

The following day he went to the British embassy in the Belgian capital where he was given an emergency travel document so he could return to his wife and family.