How 3,000 Indians got into the UK with fake papers sold by Portuguese gangs exploiting immigration loophole

Thousands of Indians entered Britain illegally using fake documents bought from criminals exploiting an immigration loophole exposed by The Mail on Sunday last week.

The forged papers entitle holders to obtain EU passports using a bizarre but entirely legitimate back door which gives those living in former Portuguese colonies the right to come to Europe.

An estimated 3,000 Indians have entered the UK in this manner with the help of a gang operating in Lisbon, London and Leicester, paying the criminals up to £22,000 a time.

Last night, MPs demanded that David Cameron force Portugal to end the loophole. Tory MP Bill Cash said: ‘This blatant abuse needs to be closed down immediately.’

Under Portuguese law, Indians born in Goa, Diu and Daman before 1961, or their children and grandchildren, can apply for Portuguese passports because these were colonies of Portugal until that year.

As a result, 20,000 Indians obtained Portuguese passports in India, and came straight to Britain without even setting foot in Portugal.

Now we can reveal that Portuguese police and the UK’s Home Office and National Crime Agency have gathered evidence indicating that 3,000 Indians obtained the passports with false birth and marriage certificates provided by the gang.

In December Home Office, NCA investigators, Leicestershire Police and Portuguese immigration officers raided seven properties in Leicester and one in London. A suspect of Pakistani origin, described as a linchpin in the gang, was arrested in Leicester.

SOURCE-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news