Air steward jailed for five years over smuggling fake passports in underwear
Shaukat Ali Cheema, 59, was stopped at Birmingham airport with more than 70 counterfeit documents concealed in compartments sewn into his pants
Specially adapted underpants Cheema used in his attempt to smuggle fake passports. Photograph: NCA/PA WirePress Association
Tuesday 19 May 2015 18.51 BSTLast modified on Tuesday 19 May 201522.03 BST
An airline steward who tried to smuggle fake passports by hiding them in a pair of specially adapted underpants has been jailed for five years.Shaukat Ali Cheema, 59, was arrested at Birmingham airport in March after 26 passports and 37 passport biodata pages were discovered in his briefs.Border force staff also found 13 driving licences which Cheema, a senior steward with Pakistan International Airlines, had concealed in pockets and compartments sewn into the pants.
In a statement issued after Cheema was sentenced at Birmingham crown court, the National Crime Agency said he had worked for Pakistan’s national carrier for 40 years.
Shaukat Ali Cheema who has been jailed for five years at Birmingham crown court. Photograph: West Midlands Police/PA WireDawn Cartwright, of the NCA’s border policing command, said: “The passports and driving licences that Cheema attempted to smuggle in his pants were intended for people across Europe and beyond.
“Fake documents are a serious concern for law enforcement. Those driving licences could have ended up in the hands of people who weren’t qualified, or safe, to drive. And more generally, fake and fraudulently obtained documents help criminals to avoid law enforcement detection and carry on in their criminality.”
Cheema, from Pakistan, pleaded guilty to possessing false identity documents with improper intention. It is thought the counterfeit documents were intended for use in Italy, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Pakistan.
Source
Shaukat Ali Cheema, 59, was stopped at Birmingham airport with more than 70 counterfeit documents concealed in compartments sewn into his pants
Specially adapted underpants Cheema used in his attempt to smuggle fake passports. Photograph: NCA/PA WirePress Association
Tuesday 19 May 2015 18.51 BSTLast modified on Tuesday 19 May 201522.03 BST
An airline steward who tried to smuggle fake passports by hiding them in a pair of specially adapted underpants has been jailed for five years.Shaukat Ali Cheema, 59, was arrested at Birmingham airport in March after 26 passports and 37 passport biodata pages were discovered in his briefs.Border force staff also found 13 driving licences which Cheema, a senior steward with Pakistan International Airlines, had concealed in pockets and compartments sewn into the pants.
In a statement issued after Cheema was sentenced at Birmingham crown court, the National Crime Agency said he had worked for Pakistan’s national carrier for 40 years.
Shaukat Ali Cheema who has been jailed for five years at Birmingham crown court. Photograph: West Midlands Police/PA WireDawn Cartwright, of the NCA’s border policing command, said: “The passports and driving licences that Cheema attempted to smuggle in his pants were intended for people across Europe and beyond.
“Fake documents are a serious concern for law enforcement. Those driving licences could have ended up in the hands of people who weren’t qualified, or safe, to drive. And more generally, fake and fraudulently obtained documents help criminals to avoid law enforcement detection and carry on in their criminality.”
Cheema, from Pakistan, pleaded guilty to possessing false identity documents with improper intention. It is thought the counterfeit documents were intended for use in Italy, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Pakistan.
Source
