Fake passport puts man in jail (From Swindon Advertiser)

Fake passport puts man in jail

12:40pm Thursday 12th May 2011 in News

A SHOP worker who used a counterfeit Belgian passport to get a job has been jailed for a year and told he will be thrown out of the country at the end of his sentence.

Dinesh Kulakrni was only caught after seven years in the UK when he went to withdraw some of his earnings from a town centre bank.

Staff became suspicious that the passport he presented was a forgery and contacted the Belgian embassy, which confirmed it.

And when the police arrested the 35-year-old, who claims to have a degree in accountancy, they found he also had a forged driving licence.

Kulakrni also had a National Insurance number which allowed him to get a job at the 99p store where he worked, paying his taxes and saving his wages.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court staff at the Royal Bank of Scotland were suspicious when he tried to make a withdrawal last month.

They thought the document was false and had their suspicions confirmed when they spoke to the Belgian Embassy in London.

When police arrested Kulakrni he told them he had paid £3,500 for the document and used it to get into the country.

Claiming to be an EU citizen he was allowed to work in this country and was able to get a National Insurance number.

“He had worked for some time at the 99p store and he had paid tax and National Insurance,” Mr Meeke said.

“In all other respects, save the fact he is not entitled to be here and his ID is fraud, he was a law-abiding citizen, working his way and paying his way.”

He said that, while there were questions about his true identity, his fingerprints were not on record before his arrest, showing he had no previous arrests or convictions in the UK.

Kulakrni, of Manchester Road, pleaded guilty to two counts of having false identification with intent.

Mike Pulsford, defending, said his client, who has a degree in accountancy, came to the UK from India in 2004 seeking to earn money to better himself.

Ironically, he said, as he came from a Commonwealth country he could have tried to get in legitimately.

He said the annual allocation of working visas had been used up for his area so, rather than wait until the following year, he got the false ID and headed off.

During his time in the country he said he had worked and was trying to get some of his wages from the bank when he was caught.

What will now happen to the £3,000 he had saved is not clear, he said, as it could be deemed the proceeds of crime but it was unlikely he would get his hands on it.

Jailing him Judge Douglas Field said “Having a false passport in your circumstances is a serious offence which has to be met with custody.

“As I have passed a sentence of imprisonment for 12 months on you and you are an illegal immigrant you will subsequently be deported at the end of your sentence.”