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Home Office

Answer

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many forged passports have been confiscated or impounded by Customs and Immigration officers in the last 12 months; [207329] (2) how many forged passports have been confiscated or impounded in the last three years by (a) Customs and Immigration officers and (b) the police. [207484] Mr. Browne: The fraudulent use of passports (including forged and counterfeit documents) is taken very seriously by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, HM Customs and the police. In addition to referrals from HM Customs and the police service, fraudulent travel documents are identified by the Immigration Service at ports of entry as well as during enforcement operations. There is no single central record of the total number of forged passports confiscated or impounded by Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), Her Majesty's Customs and Excise (HMCE) and the police. However the available statistics show: Since 2001 numbers of fraudulent1 travel documents detected at United Kingdom ports of entry are as follows: 1 In the context of forgery statistics "Travel documents" is the all embracing term for passports, ID cards, refugee travel documents, certificates of identity, seaman's books and visas. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number 2001 6,601 2002 9,664 2003 7,985 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Figures are not available to indicate how many of these documents were detected by Customs or Immigration Officers or by the police. In addition, since 2001 the National Document Fraud Unit has had a permanent presence in the main offices of IND in Croydon, following a pilot exercise which revealed large numbers of fraudulent travel documents being submitted in support of applications for leave to remain. Fraudulent documents detected by NDFU in Croydon from 2001 are: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number 2001 360 2002 461 2003 837 2004 1,044 _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

430 c1150W; 207329;207484

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Customs and Excise Applications Fraud Immigration Forgery Police Passports Travel requirements Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk