Counterfeit European passports and UK driving licences are being sold for thousands of pounds to illegal immigrants by Albanian criminals, The Epoch Times has learned.
The sophisticated forgery racket is being advertised in secret social media groups targeting Albanian asylum seekers with promises that the documents will help secure housing and employment in the UK.
In one Facebook group alone, dozens of posts promoting the fraudulent documentation are being published per week by Albanian social media accounts.
Some include videos and pictures of the fake passports and licences being made in what appears to be a makeshift production factory by gloved criminals.
One of the social media groups, set up for Albanians living in London, includes a private messaging chat in which the fraudsters can directly message potential customers.
The Epoch Times joined one of the so-called online communities, where exchanges are carried out mostly in the Albanian language.
In one group titled “Pasaporta European Me Chip Per Drug Anglie”—which translates to European passports with chip for England—fraudsters offer illicit shopping lists of illegal certificates.
They include Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) branded theory test pass certificates that the criminals claim can be used to successfully apply for an authentic UK driving licence.
Those wishing to purchase the illegal documentation are directed to contact a British mobile number via WhatsApp.
Passports Sold for 50,000 Euros
The Epoch Times made contact with one of the social media accounts claiming to offer the counterfeit certificates.After messaging a British mobile number included with the post—which promotes the documents as allowing illegal immigrants to enjoy “a fairytale with the King”—we were told that we could purchase both a fake theory test pass and a practical assessment for 2,040 pounds.
The individual claimed via message to “have someone working inside a DVLA test centre which allows someone else to sit the exam on your behalf.”
They said: “You must have a provisional licence for him to do this as he fills in a free appointment slot with your details. Once done he will provide me with the certificate letter (the one you walk out with at the test centre).
“Plus you don’t pay anything till all is done and you’ve confirmed it on the actual system (booked your practical test) you can’t go wrong.”
A theory test costs 1,020 pounds “paid after” the document is delivered, and a practical test costs 1,020 pounds “upfront,” they claimed.
The social media account associated with the mobile number included pictures of what appeared to be forged DVLA documents and driving licences.
A separate Albanian social media account, which offers forged European passports, claimed in one message exchange on the private community group that some of their documents have sold for up to 50,000 euros (43,000 pounds).
They included videos of the documents being made via a computer by a plastic-gloved individual whose face isn’t shown.
The clip—sent by private message to more than 100 members of the Facebook group—also shows the criminal placing the document under an ultraviolet light, appearing to suggest that the document can bypass airport and authority checks.
Smugglers Exploit Strikes
The Epoch Times contacted both the Home Office and the DVLA about the social media counterfeit scheme.A DVLA spokesperson described those behind the driving licence fraud as “recognised scammers” attempting to “obtain payment or personal information.”
“Anyone concerned they may have been a victim of a scam should contact the police through Action Fraud straight away,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
“Where we become aware of scam accounts purporting to be DVLA, we will work as a matter of urgency with relevant government agencies and third parties to raise the issue and have them removed.”
The Home Office didn’t respond to requests for comment over the passport concerns.
In January, it was claimed that Albanian people smugglers were exploiting UK Border Force strikes by urging “clients” to use sophisticated passport fakes to slip into the UK via plane instead of crossing the English Channel by small boats.
The claims came after eight days of Border Force strikes at airports over the Christmas period.
A Sunday Express investigation identified an Albanian group on messaging platform Telegram with the name “Journey to England,” offering fake passports from Norway, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Malta, Portugal, and Slovenia, which it claims have enabled people to enter the UK.
An undercover reporter, posing as an Albanian national, asked about the price of a fake EU passport.
The response was: “2,600 Euros for one passport. They are with original details and of good quality. You have to get to Italy. From there we send the people. Now it is good time.
“Less checks at the UK airports. So easy to get out of the airports.”
The newspaper reported a National Crime Agency (NCA) spokesperson saying that the unit had “an action plan with social media companies which has resulted in greater collaboration against groups using social media to recruit, communicate and advertise services to migrants.”
Economic Immigrants
More than a quarter of the 45,755 illegal immigrants who crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2022 were Albanian, most of whom claimed asylum.The Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons said in a report that it has found little evidence to indicate significant numbers of Albanian nationals are at risk in their own country and require asylum in the UK.
But the committee said more needs to be done to support the Albanian victims of people smuggling, especially women.
The number of Albanians making the English Channel crossing in small boats rose to 12,301 in 2022 from 800 in 2021, an increase that the committee said was “both unexpected and unexplained.”
According to the report, up to June 2022, 51 percent of asylum claims from Albania were initially accepted, a rate far higher than many comparable European nations.
Nine countries, including Germany, accepted no asylum claims from Albania.
The committee said, “The Home Office must explain why the UK’s acceptance rate was so high, particularly compared to other countries. It must also explain why the acceptance rate is substantially higher for women (88 percent) than for men (13 percent).”
The committee stated that the main driver of migration from Albania was economic and recommended that the government promote seasonal work visas in agriculture and construction to give more Albanians the opportunity to come to the UK without making illegal Channel crossings.
Only 325 work visas were granted to Albanian nationals in the first nine months of 2022, according to the report, which cites evidence submitted to the committee as arguing that “a perceived difficulty in obtaining work in the UK through legal means could be driving people towards clandestine migration routes.”
Social media advertisements in Albanian warn that those who make the journey “face being detained and removed.”
It followed a similar government campaign on Facebook and Instagram in August 2022 to try and deter the rising number of Albanian citizens making the small boat crossings.
Albania was the most common nationality applying for asylum in the UK in the year to March, with 13,714 applications by Albanian citizens, 9,487 of which came from arrivals on boats crossing the English Channel.
But the UK government sees Albania as a “safe and prosperous country,” and the illegal immigrants are “travelling through multiple countries to make the journey to the UK” to make “spurious asylum claims.”
