A recent investigation reveals illegal migrants are buying fake UK passports to secure jobs and evade authorities in Britain
London: So, it turns out that illegal migrants are getting their hands on fake UK passports and driving licenses before they even set foot in Britain. Crazy, right? This whole scam is helping them land jobs illegally and dodge the police.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) got wind of this through a probe by the Sun on Sunday. Apparently, there are shady British firms out there offering these fraudulent papers for a whopping £5,000. Migrants can just pick them up after arriving by boat or plane.
One ad even claimed you could get a full driving license and pass all the tests without lifting a finger. Another company, based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, was selling “original guaranteed” UK passports for the same price. Talk about a deal!
These ads are popping up on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X. With these fake documents, migrants can apply to stay in the UK or find jobs without anyone noticing the forgeries. The NCA pointed out that these false identity documents are a big part of organized immigration crime.
After being reported, many of these ads were taken down by Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram. Tory MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke suggested that if migrants saw warnings about immediate deportation alongside these ads, they might think twice about spending all that cash.
On top of that, people smugglers are offering £6,000 packages to Albanians, which include crossing the Channel and even a place to stay. Since 2018, around 150,000 small boat migrants have crossed the Channel to Britain—more than the entire population of Blackpool!
In response, TikTok has removed these ads and pointed potential customers to anti-trafficking charities. Meta has also stated that they don’t allow fraudulent activity on their platforms and will remove any ads or accounts that break their rules.
