Seven men have been sentenced after 200 illegal immigrants were charged up to £15,000 each for fake documents in a scam to allow them to stay in the UK. The operation, uncovered by immigration officers during a raid, was run from Ataur Talukdar's travel and cargo business in Hyde, Greater Manchester.
His associate Haroon Miah, a Barclays bank clerk, had opened accounts to aid the scam, Manchester Crown Court heard. The accounts, opened in Hyde, were for people from as far away as Aberdeen.
John Dilworth, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'These defendants were involved in a sophisticated and well organised criminal enterprise which provided individuals with the necessary documents to enable them to reside in the UK and access all the benefits that a British citizen is entitled to.'
The Home Office investigation started when officers visited Talukdar's business Miftah Travel and Cargo in Hyde in January 2011, and discovered a man with an envelope of fake documents and £12,000 in cash. Among the documents was a Barclays Bank statement for an account opened by Talukdar less than an hour previously under a different name, having been dealt with by staff member Haroon Miah.
On searching the office, more forged bills, passports and documents were found, leading to the imprisonment of seven men, mainly from Bangladesh, for fraud and identity offences. They paid up to £15,000 each for the papers in the hope of getting naturalisation and then British citizenship which would allow them access to benefits and to bring other family members to live in the UK.
Ringleader Ataur Talukdar, 49, of Clocktower Close, Hyde, received eight years after being found guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and commit fraud, and money laundering. Bank clerk Haroon Miah, 26, of Henry Street, Hyde, was handed three years after being found guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. Other sentences ranged from six months suspended to four years and three months.
