A raid on the East London home of a master forger has revealed what it takes to run a million pound empire selling fake IDs. Bilal Iqbal, 25, and Ummad Ahmed, 32, pleaded guilty in February to a total of five charges, including making false identity documents and money laundering, after an investigation into international drug trafficker Eddie Burton. Both were jailed for six years on Thursday (May 22).
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard Burton purchased a fake ID from Iqbal and Ahmed, and used it to travel across borders in mainland Europe. From there he imported over 300 kilos of Class A drugs into the UK.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) says fake identity documents can also assist irregular migrants smuggled into the UK on small boats and in lorries, and to gain employment, open bank accounts and commit acts of fraud to claim benefits and housing.
Iqbal and Ahmed charged around £70 for a fake UK driving licence and offered a range of optional extras, such as holographic stickers or raised text, for an additional cost. Customers could also pay £40 for an express service to receive their ID in three or four days, as opposed to two to three weeks.
NCA investigators estimate the pair sold more than 40,000 fake IDs – an average of around 100 per week – over an eight-year period. They made more than £1 million and laundered their illicit profits through a window cleaning company. Without close inspection by a trained eye, the driving licences were identical to the official cards issued by the DVLA.
Both men were arrested by NCA officers on January 21 2025, hours before they were due to board a flight to Dubai. At the time of his arrest Iqbal was carrying envelopes containing 19 fake UK driving licences, and 21 more were seized from his car and home in Rushdene Gardens, Ilford.
Items seized from Ahmed’s home address in Fanshaw Crescent, Hornchurch, included an ID card printer, laminator, blank plastic cards, holographic foil and over £20,000 in cash.
‘Extremely lucrative’
John Turner, NCA senior investigating officer, said : “These men ran an extremely lucrative illegal enterprise and operated as professional enablers at the heart of serious and organised crime.
“These IDs helped high-profile criminals evade law enforcement and operate anonymously. They could also be used by offenders involved in organised immigration crime to provide people smuggled into the country with false UK identities.
“Tackling enablers for wider criminality, such as Iqbal and Ahmed, is a key pillar in our mission to protect the public from serious and organised crime.”
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