Charlotte Newton Two master forgers who churned out thousands of fake passports and ID cards from a basement factory have been jailed for six and a half years. Nacer Boudelaa, 40, and his brother Farouk Boudelaa, 32, manufactured the false documents for i

Charlotte Newton

Two master forgers who churned out thousands of fake passports and ID cards from a basement factory have been jailed for six and a half years.

Nacer Boudelaa, 40, and his brother Farouk Boudelaa, 32, manufactured the false documents for illegal immigrants over three years from their Hornsey base, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Police raids in Hillfield Avenue uncovered thousands of pounds in cash and 25 passports.

The court heard that 1,800 British, Italian, Belgian, French and Spanish documents were also seized from the house.

Over three years, Nacer Boudelaa used high-quality printers and embossing machines to expertly craft his fake IDs.

He then sold the fake identities to illegal immigrants seeking UK residency, jobs and benefits.

They included UK and European driving licences, utility bills and banking documents as well numerous European passports.

They would have been used to defraud numerous agencies and businesses for benefits and loans.

The younger brother, Farouk Boudelaa, arrived from Algeria to stay at the Hornsey address and was guarding the false documents for his brother, the court was told.

The pair were both arrested on February 11 this year, following an operation by the Metropolitan Police immigration team.

Elder brother Nacer was the key organiser and pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing criminal property and one count of concealing property. He was jailed for a total of five years.

Farouk Boudelaa will serve 18 months after pleading guilty to one count of possessing criminal property and he will be deported to Algeria on his release.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Stephen Robbins acknowledged their guilty pleas.

But he said: "This was organised crime relating to the wholesale manufacture of false identification documents.

"It was only detected by a police surveillance operation.

"This type of activity undermines international security, especially in these times of threat of international terrorism."

Investigating officer Sean Lee said: "This was a highly organised and significant operation that had connections across the UK and Europe.

"The documents created by Nacer Boudelaa could have fetched anything from �50 for a national insurance card to thousands of pounds for a British passport."

Nacer Boudelaa, of Romford, Essex, was jailed for 12 months for concealing property, to be served consecutively with four years for the criminal property charges, making a total of five years.

Farouk Boudelaa, of Hillfield Avenue, Hornsey, was jailed for 18 months for possession of criminal property and was recommended for deportation.