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Eight arrested in nationwide campaign

Eight people have been arrested at the start of a nationwide campaign to target suspected identity fraudsters led by the NCA.

Dozens of officers from the NCA, supported by officers from a number of police forces, carried out raids at 10 locations across the country earlier this week.

The arrests in London, Merseyside, Cheshire, Humberside, Essex and Scotland, followed months of planning also involving the Metropolitan Police Service, ACPO, National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, HM Passport Office and the DVLA.

Those detained included individuals suspected of fraudulently applying for genuine passports or driving licences using hijacked or stolen identities.

They were arrested on suspicion of fraud offences and are now being questioned.

Keith Bristow, Director General of the National Crime Agency, said:

"This operation demonstrates what the NCA is capable of right from day one - co-ordinating law enforcement and government agencies from across the country to focus on an issue that is a key enabler for organised crime.

"Fraudulently obtained identity documents are a valuable part of a criminal's toolkit, allowing them to travel anonymously or obtain goods and services.

"Today NCA and police officers have arrested eight people suspected of obtaining these documents. We have also seized documents and computers from a number of addresses and our investigations will continue."

Further arrests as part of this operation are planned in the coming days and weeks.

The raids formed part of Operation Mask, a multi-agency campaign to target all forms of identity crime, co-ordinated by ACPO and the NCA.

Deputy Chief Constable Giles York, national policing lead for identity crime, said:

"As the ACPO lead for identity crime I welcome the opportunity to work alongside the National Crime Agency to tackle identity crime which heavily features across a broad spectrum of other crime, including the masking of criminal assets and movements.

"Owing to the many different aspects of identity crime, it is particularly important that the NCA and ACPO work together with a wide range of other stakeholders to reduce the risks and harms associated with the use of false identities."

HM Passport Office Chief Executive Officer, Paul Pugh, said:

''Her Majesty's Passport Office takes passport fraud extremely seriously. We are working closely with the new National Crime Agency, the police and other government departments to prevent and detect this criminality.

"As this operation shows, anyone suspected of illegally obtaining passports will be tracked down and dealt with."