UK passport fraudsters handed jailtime for assisting 'most wanted fugitives'

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) — Several prominent members of a UK gang were jailed on Tuesday for their role in a major passport fraud scheme that allowed numerous high-priority fugitives to evade capture, according to British media.

Following a covert surveillance operation by the National Crime Agency, Anthony Beard and Christopher Zietek were apprehended for their involvement in supplying authentic passports obtained through fraudulent means to organized criminals.

Beard, 61, was sentenced to six years and eight months. He was involved in replacing the photo of the passport holder with that of a wanted criminal seeking a new identity.

He targeted vulnerable people whose passports were expiring, convincing them to let him apply for replacements in a process in which he would send the fugitive's photo instead.

Zietek, 67, acted as an intermediary, collecting the passports from Beard and providing them to the notorious Adams family, a criminal organization based in North London.

The Adams family then sold these passports to the fugitives, with prices reaching up to £15,000 (about $18,720) a piece.