Passports: fourth man arrested

A fourth man has been charged after blank passports and visas worth £2.5 million went missing from a Chadderton printworks.

Alan Burke (49), of Hathershaw Lane, Oldham, has been charged with conspiracy to steal.

He appeared at Oldham Magistrates’ Court on Friday and was remanded in custody to appear at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, on February 20.

Muneer Hussain (29), of Dearnalay Way, Oldham; Jawad Karim (18), of Vicarage Street, Oldham; and Mohammed Shanawaz (23), of Old Lane, Chadderton; have already been charged with handling stolen goods following the theft.

The charges were made after 3,000 blank passports went missing from 3M Security Printing and Systems in Long Lane, Chadderton, in the early hours of July 28, last year.