Passport fakes on Air India's service from Birmingham

Police were today investigating a fake passport scam operating on a "notorious" flight out of Birmingham Airport.
Scores of passport crooks trying to leave Britain with fake documents are said to be targeting one particular route out of the city.
West Midlands Police confirmed they were monitoring Air India's service from Birmingham to Toronto in Canada after a court case spotlighted the racket.
The probe comes on the day Home Office minister Liam Byrne announced a £100 million crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Hodge Hill MP is vowing to increase the number of people deported each year, currently running at 60,000, with a range of stringent new measures to crack down on illegal human 'trafficking'.
The Birmingham to Toronto route is so notorious that police have even produced pre-prepared witness statements to cut the time officers spent on each case.
The passport loophole was highlighted by Judge Marten Coates at Warwick Crown Court as he jailed an illegal immigrant for nine months for trying to board the flight with a stolen British passport.
Indian-born Harjit Singh, 25, of no fixed address, paid £2,000 for the document but was rumbled as he tried to check in. The judge said police had produced a "pro-forma" witness statement specifically for the flight.
West Midlands Police confirmed officers were aware of problems surrounding the flight.
Air India officials insisted they had stringent check-in procedures and no passengers had been allowed to board the service with fake or stolen passports.
Air India said it was the only carrier flying between Birmingham and Toronto.
"There have been four cases in the past year and our security caught them all and they were not allowed to board," a spokesman said.
07/03/07 James Cartledge And Paul Beard/ Birmingham Mail/ic Birmingham.co.uk, UK

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Categories: Air India Mar 2007, Airports Mar 2007, foreign feb 2007, Safety Mar 2007