The ringleaders of a gang that specialised in supplying fake passports to high-level criminals allowing them to evade arrest and identification have been jailed.
Anthony Beard, 61, paid individuals for expired passports and applied for renewals using photographs of criminals who paid up to £20,000 to start new lives in Dubai, Portugal and Spain.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to six years and eight months at Reading crown court and jailed after admitting conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and conspiracy to make a false instrument with intent.
“This was the golden ticket for the organised crime networks in order that they could evade arrest, evade identification by local law enforcement either internationally or at home in the UK,” said Craig Turner, deputy director of investigations at the National Crime Agency (NCA).
The scheme provided falsified passports to individuals including Jamie Acourt, a former suspect in the original Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry and Ireland’s leading crime boss, Christy Kinahan, among others.
The agency said “many fugitives” all over the world have been caught after establishing the use of false identities.
Beard, from Sydenham, south-east London, approached “vulnerable people” with similar facial features to their clients, according to the NCA. He is believed to have ushered more than 100 fraudulent passport applications through to completion, with several unsuccessful applications made.
Beard used his own contact numbers from burner phones, countersigned passport applications and used contacts pretending to be professionals to verify image authenticity. His fingerprints were found on many of the forms, according to the NCA.
Another 74 offences linked to applications were taken into consideration.
On Tuesday, Christopher Zietek, formerly known as Christopher McCormack, 67, was also jailed for eight years for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, conspiracy to make a false instrument with intent and converting criminal property.
Alan Thompson, 72, was sentenced to three years for the same offences. Lawyer Craig Rush representing the three men, said Thompson had been forced to retire on medical grounds and years later was so bored that he was driven to crime.
Both Thompson and Zietek were found guilty on 17 March after a trial.
Deputy circuit judge, Nicholas Ainley, said the passport scheme enabled “very wicked, sophisticated, violent criminals” to escape justice.
He said that Zietek was “clearly the organiser”, providing a link to serious criminals, while Beard was “the leg man” and Thompson had a lesser role.
Beard and Zietek were caught after a covert surveillance operation started by the NCA in 2017. The investigation codenamed Operation Strey included handwriting experts and voice recognition specialists, and was described by the agency as one of the “most significant” in recent times.
The two men were arrested during coordinated raids in October 2021.
“We worked across international borders to bring the masterminds to account, and we will continue to protect the UK from criminals who present a threat to our security, people and economy,” said Turner.
