Passport haul worth £15m to criminals

NEWSAGENT Yogesh Patel who sold a newspaper and a packet of crisps to the driver of the van carrying passports.

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CRIMINALS could create new identities with the passports stolen in a two-minute raid in Chadderton.

The 24 boxes, containing 3,000 blank biometric passports and visa slips said to have a criminal value of £15 million, were stolen as the driver stopped to buy a paper and a packet of crisps — but more boxes of passports were left behind.

Extra security in the van delivering passports and visas to RAF Northolt, destined for British embassies overseas, was a padlock.

Police are today appealing for help to track down two men, one heavily tanned, who robbed the unmarked white Citroen Relay off Long Lane at 6.40am on Monday.

The vehicle had left 3M Security Printing and Systems in Gorse Street, a quarter of a mile away. The raiders struck when the driver went into Yogi’s newsagent’s in Long Lane. Two men simultaneously opened the driver and passenger doors, and shoved the passenger’s head to the dashboard.

At a press conference outside Oldham police station, Det Chief Insp Bill McGreavy revealed that the passports and slips were in small cardboard boxes, 5ins or 6ins by 4ins.

He said: “The passenger was told to keep his head down. He saw a tanned male with a local accent and dark or black hair.

“The van was driven about 100 yards to an unmade lane. The passenger heard noises in the back, then after two minutes he saw there was no one there and he tried to find his driver.

“It was not an armoured van and it was all over in two minutes. Security will now be reviewed.

“I am appealing to anyone who saw the white Citroen van. Did they see the driver looking for his colleague? Did they see anything suspicious?

“To a certain degree the passports are worthless to people trying to get through airports. But I am aware that they have great value for criminals.”

Steve Beecroft, an industry specialist, said forgers could still print the passports off as proof of identity for banks.

They could be sold to asylum-seekers who want to pass themselves off as UK citizens, or to travel between countries which do not use biometric passport readers.

He added: “They are probably not much use as travel documents, but for proof of identity a lot of the banks would take them.”

Yogesh Patel, owner of Yogis newsagent’s, said: “The driver came in at around 6.30 on Monday morning, bought a paper and left. The first I knew of the theft was when he came back an hour later with police.”

Dorothy Brown, who lives across the road from Yogi’s, said: “I was awake, but I didn’t hear anything, so the robber obviously acted quickly and quietly.”

Another resident said: “It seems bizarre that they could do this in the middle of a bustling area.”

A spokesman for 3M said: “There were no personal details in these documents. They contain security features and the Home Office has taken steps to stop their use.”

Anyone with information should contact Oldham CID on 0161-856 8951 or the Crimestoppers charity on 0800-555 111.