UK Border Force - Season 2, Episode 7: Nigerian Imposters

[Music] 25,000 men and women work for the UK Border Agency at home and aboard their job is to seek out the law breakers and imposters who don't have a right to be here they are the UK Border Force tonight the fraudsters trying to cheat their way out of Nigeria do you know this person no this person is your cousin it's a risky business in Calais [Music] and in London's West End enforcement officers question a Mongolian chef when they try to enter systems you're not able to show me your passport I find it all quite difficult to believe yeah [Music] in the past ten years Glasgow has become a hotspot for migrants a recent report found at least 70 different nationalities now living in the city not all of these newcomers are here legally the UK Border Agency has enforcement teams who seek out immigration offenders and remove them from Britain but their job is made harder by a racket in forged documentation worth millions helping illegal immigrants to hide under false identities how do you open the door please immigration officer Carrie McVeigh and her team are at the address of a man they believe has overstayed his visa by more than a year so I can see you standing here open the door now we have a warrant to enter the premises so if you don't open the door we Beaufort set the target today is a man named John Moses okay what's your name sir my name is Paulo Tony Austin Daye mm-hmm Angelita tough disease dentists is of 26 of what what month you know give me a deer buff he said person let's not join mosey that's my uncle uncle yeah you're gonna give me at the airport in the passport passport sorry do you have your passport and this address you lost your past but if you've got a foots carpet any identification whatsoever identification mm-hmm I lost my passport right keys lessons Metis Nelson's okay I'm it is a spade immigration offender okay you're not obliged to see anything anything you do still be no seeds and maybe using evidence at a later stage you're now under arrest the target would behind you sound as the babe do you know that Pete any form of detail was asked to that we didn't have a photograph of that your target but a comment in for accountants were positively or negatively see this him on what he claims to have no form of ID something the Enforcement Team have heard many times before a valid document will confirm if he's telling the truth or not oh okay with no phoned South African passport with the gentleman that we have erased his photograph on it and the name Patrick a Gabor spot I believe that that passports not genuine he's tall does he's from Nigeria and his photograph is no and I South African passport I know we have evidence that gentleman Harbor a suit has been using the name Patrick eyeball may not be ruling but we'd always been using it yes it's not yours manger you're under arrest okay you're under caution say anything you do say will be no seeds and maybe using evidence okay so I'm going to ask you now is this your passport it has your picture on it that is your picture can I just maybe point out that you do have a marking on your face which is also present in this picture you're making it worse for yourself but we'll carry this on at the police station okay you're making it a lot worse they set in lying to me you're making it worse all right you are lying to me okay you tell me that's not your picture and I can see that is I know you don't come from so far put you in possession mm-hmm your possession of a safe African passport and I need to know why you've got it okay all right a lot of people reading turns up to have various identities it's easier for them to get benefits or medical aid under another name I'm not obviously um saying what people we encounter once the exhaust wasn't him and I still try to steer and the country illegally but just had to try adopting our name it's not using that the Nigerian man was sentenced to four months in prison in possession of a forged document he was also listed as an over stay after breaching the conditions in his visa that was issued in Lagos during 2008 in Britain over 10,000 arrests were made by enforcement teams coming up UK border force goes to Nigeria and meets the officers who root out the forgeries these are readily available on the street I don't believe that this is a genuine wedding certificate is genuine documents and London's immigration team grills staff at a West End State countries we need an address to release you too so we have to know where you're living Lagos Nigeria is one of the biggest cities in Africa by 2015 its population would have reached 25 million [Music] poverty is rife and for those looking for a way out Britain is the Gateway to a new life the Home Office received so many applications from Nigerians wanting to come to Britain that they have a team of officers in Lagos to police the process Joe Doran is one of these offices it's Wednesday morning and he's on his way to work coming into work here we have several routes again in the work I've decided to take the boat today mainly because the traffic sometimes to take ten minutes sometimes it can take over an hour this that's beat the tube on the way to work in the morning lateness is a vibrant place it's definitely got character and soul and it can be very dangerous at times but as long as you abide by the security restrictions that are given to us it's generally okay my role is an instruments officer here at the British deputy High Commission in Lagos and I can see their freedom applications the Nigerian citizens who wish to travel and visit the UK or settle in the UK officer Doran is based at the British deputy High Commission around 10,000 fraudulent documents are submitted with applications every year forgeries are readily available on the streets of Lagos some are right on the doorstep of the High Commission officer Doran is just one of the 34 entry clearance officers who decide if an applicant is suitable to enter the UK this gentleman has been called in for interview today as I was going through his documents I know it's that he's birth certificate on the format of it it contains spelling mistakes he's winning certificate that he gave has been signed by a registrar whose documents have we know have been abused for example here's a blank one and these are readily available on the streets of Lagos and that you can just fill two parts in yourself the man has also submitted a suspect copy of his sponsors passport I mean this photocopy of the passport I mean that has been photo that is a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy that has been photocopied so many times that the details are no longer really clear all right if you can just call it in this gentleman for me please the man has submitted documents he maintains are genuine now Joe must decide if his story is credible only sir just take a seat for me the application form did you complete it yourself yes and I'm all the details correct yes sir why do you wish to go to the UK for family visits what's your relationship with your sponsor because the first cousin second cousin first quality how many children the CEO she's your cousin you know you say a movie is made possible ID or you do know because you go check the application form but I think it's too so children are two children all right why did you write one child in your application form that's what your kind of your response has got yes no I thought you forgot I think okay ah all these documents you provided to me here are they all genuine yeah so you're saying that you're winning certificate yes it's genuine it's your bank statement is genuine do the birth certificate of your child is genuine what win story office was this register bet yeah where did you register your child's birth you jang ok-jung yeah is that you sure are you sure do you know what register your fish you were married that man do you know what we're just real fish you were married at registrar office today John okay and where did you register your child's birth my bad fine I think okay you see it is I can obtain this from on the streets in Lagos it's signed by exactly the same registrar that you are stating completed your marriage ceremony yes okay and that's a blank one that I can just fill in yeah grace of Allah grace Oh dolly okay okay are you telling me the truth it's not are you telling me the truth yes you are the applicant is sticking to his story but Jo is not convinced the UK immigration officers have been working in Calais since 2002 it's their job to protect the border by stopping the clandestines who hide in lorries who want to enter Britain illegally it's 2:00 a.m. and the crew are halfway into their shift officer Dave Percival has been working at Calais for three years and has seen nearly every trick in the book you can see on this vehicle it's got a tilt cord that goes through all the loops on the wagon and then it goes through the winder with the seal on the back so that's quite a secure vehicle so vehicles without those you can just pull the curtain up or even just open the back door so you're dealing to have a little bit of security but this one it's just coming now it's got no tilt cord so you can undo all these and then just lift the curtain out they have the latest KITT heartbeat monitors and co2 probes but sometimes all you need is a torch isn't it chuckle legalize out over here yeah like all right hello right this way yeah this way they've found what's known as an axial grab oh yeah at some point between the vehicle parking up and the big coming through someone's climbed on to get sort of a vehicle so now our priority is to get him off and make sure that he's safe because he looks like he's quite agile so he might try and do a runner sound out there for me one person one sure where are you from Vietnam it's very unusual to get Vietnamese hiding on the axle of the vehicle which automatically for me you think there must be someone else somewhere so either in another vehicle or inside this one the vehicle is clear good news for the driver each clandestine could cost him a fine of two thousand pounds if he has failed to carry out the proper security checks where have you come from Belgium yeah Belgium yeah I talk of the axial grabber isn't saying much but his paperwork tells some of his story papers from the French saying it was removed he said yesterday he was caught by the French only yesterday UK Border Agency staff followed a procedure and hand him back to the French in a few hours he could be released to risk his life once again we hear stories quite regularly about people that have fallen off axles and being crushed under the wheels it just shows the desperation of people really that they're about desperate to get to the UK that they will risk their lives for it hiding in lorries isn't the only way to get into the UK illegally in Lagos Nigeria the black market in fake documents is booming [Music] and back at the British deputy High Commission entry clearance officer Joe Doran has looked further into his applicants case he has noticed some alarming similarities with a previous fraudulent application this gentleman who is also wearing the same shirt same jacket in st. I was refused only a few weeks ago when he applied he also submitted all the same documents all applicant now has submitted the fact that they're wearing the same shirt same tie and same jacket says to me they are going to the same agent and I believe that this is a package and new package which has just started circulating I'm just going to say what his relationship is between him and the previous application because they all claiming to be the same person's cousin thank you hello sir take a seat there for me thank you for being so patient with us just want to confirm that you employed as a lecturer at Babcock University worse do you know how many students go to Babcock University of our 50 students them test the whole population do you know a student by the name of Tom he abusive hmm don't you hear me very well okay I'm asking you you're a lecturer a Babcock University where there are only 50 students do you know a student ID University by the name of toheeb yusuf yeah yes it's he a relative of yours are you related mr. Yusuf what is it are you related to mr. Yusuf yes good he's your cousin yes do you know this person you don't know this person No this person is your cousin this is so abusive this is so he abusive your cousin who studies at your university where you are employed as a lecturer he has produced exactly the same documents that you have exactly the same okay you saw into application form okay and on that declaration in tells you what the consequences are and making false representations okay so think about your answers is there anything you wish to say about your child's birth certificate the wedding certificate is the only thing you wish to tell me about knees now for the certificate I've already showed you that these are wittily available that's on this tree I don't believe that this is a genuine wedding certificate is there anything you wish to tell me or are these documents still genuine is genuine documents okay thank you very much you'd like to take a seat outside you'll be given your decision in a few moments okay [Music] before making his final decision Joe must refer the case to his entry clearance manager Morris Harper this gentleman who in interview he said by the name was his cousin when a show Tim the picture you didn't know who he was and all the sponsored documents are exactly the same it does look like it packages in there the writing is the same on the application excellent thank you very much like almost 53,000 other cases a year the man will be denied entry to bring thank you for being so patient with us I know it's taken some time I have made my decision and my decision has been to refuse your application in brief it's because you have submitted forged documents to do you have anything to say to me there you go sir okay thank you I think you took it quite well it's surprising at how many people will not appeal that decision they will then we apply apologizing profusely telling saying that they got ill advised by an agent they completed the form wrong and it was completed by an agent they didn't realize that they didn't star in that declaration at the back to say date was completed by an agent at the moment he doesn't automatically get banned for 10 years it's only when he reapplies would a band start from today's date with so many fraudsters caught out every day it's physically impossible for the police to arrest them all so the man is free to go coming up the man applying for a UK visa despite the fact he's been living in Britain for two years and it's show time as enforcement officers hit London's West End beckett house london the enforcement team have a tip-off that a restaurant in the West End is hiring illegal immigrants the intention is to talk to all staff present at the address and identify any persons illegally present or without the legal right to work in the UK okay what happe what they're doing any questions the restaurant is a scotch Steakhouse popular with tourists on London's Charing Cross Road [Music] the team splits up officers Livington and Mitchell head downstairs to the kitchen whilst Officer pure world questions the waitress three months so how long you been in this country three months when it's just to finish what do you study thanks to the English do some sex with the home office we're gonna cook we gonna make a phone call because we have records of visas issued here actually you know the waitress is Ukrainian who says she's a student if she's telling the truth the officers will find her records on the home office database down in the kitchen officers lipping tynin Mitchell are speaking to a chef he says he's from Mongolia speak English tiny little bit okay don't mind just turn it all off you got any ID on you yeah any ID driver's license passport it's not here where is it it's at home okay okay what's your name yep yeah yeah what's your family name J or gj6 and you from Mongolia yeah how long have you been in the UK for three and a half years about three years what leave have you got to be in the UK what what leave have you got you've got what permit these are you've got these to have you what type of visa student student visa still check okay we're the winner you go when you go to college Ted well then you go to college next Wendy gotta whenever you beat the college how you beat the college recently when when's the last time you've been to college two weeks ago so are you are you going to college at the moment why not now if I need money so you don't go you're not studying at the moment have you come to this country to work or have you come to this country to study English is that what you come here that the main reason why you're in this country it's called college basically first of all she's told me she's told my colleague that she's a student she don't know what she's not what she was studying she said she last went to college like two saw two weeks ago she's cause she's goofily brittle the most that foreign students are allowed to work during term time is 20 hours a week both interviewees say they're students but the Mongolian chef has just admitted to working 40 hours and you'll tell me yours you're working there for two years away when are you studying CEO tell me you're working 40 hours a week and you're standing in this world to work you work for theirs wake everyone just sometimes just sometimes how many hours a week you allowed to work when your studies 20 hours yes I haven't you're working for we as you're working more hours and you allowed to I know you've been working not study yeah okay that's lovely go to the nitrate soon all right thank you for your help thanks bye-bye way no it's a definitely no trace he doesn't appear to be on their database which could mean he's given them a false name now we can't find a place of where'd you get your visa from Mongolia I'm not believing anything you're telling me all right because we can't find new tracking systems you're not able to show me a passport I find it all quite difficult to believe yeah there's another way to find his ID I think he's gonna have to go through station yeah scanning officers Livington and Mitchell are looking for a fingerprint match on their biometric database in Calais 20 million tons of freight passed through the port every year even with British and French border controls it's impossible to search every lorry passing through the port this driver says he has already been stopped by the French can we open the drivers indicated he's had four taken out the UK team want to check for themselves to make sure none were missed something wrapped up wrapped up in black bags until I get down there I can't actually say whether it's a clandestine my colleague is going to look at that one I'm going to look at this one we don't know what it is at the moment it could just be bags I'm gonna go down I'm not sure whether if this one is okay Oh moving okay hello okay well that one is opening anyway hello trying to take it off you okay nationality Vietnam from Vietnam okay are you okay you okay okay just have to make sure because they've been covered in plastic bags over their head that they'll write the fact that they've wrapped yourself in plastic is something that we've seen quite a few times it's very very dangerous because they don't know how long they're gonna be in the law reform and but they do it because they think we can get around the co2 control they think that by breathing into a plastic bag it's going to contain the carbon dioxide that they produce by breathing so that it's not going to be in the vehicle so when we prove it we won't pick it up obviously it doesn't really work and they're putting their lives at risk right you still in Calais yeah that very silly doesn't work we still found you see how much sweat she's got on him from sitting in that bag for too long that's the bag the man was hiding in it's been taped in the middle so it's it's almost human length with no documents and no answers the team have no idea who these people are they're handed over to the French but could be back again within hours oh they will try again no doubt about it these guys are pretty desperate to get to the UK and as you can see they'll though you use any means we'd probably see them again tomorrow we might have even seen them yesterday [Music] back in Lagos hopeful visa applicants arrived at the British deputy High Commission applicants are called for interview when their application forms alone and not enough to qualify for a visa this morning officer Andy Megan is dealing with a difficult case the applicant lived in Britain as an illegal immigrant for two and a half years under a false identity he's returned to Nigeria to apply for a legitimate UK visa he's decided probably on the advice of a solicitor to come back to Nigeria and make his application properly as the spouse of someone and although his wife is from Lagos the couple met in Britain and they had their first child all of this while he was still an illegal immigrant despite his dishonest past he is now prepared to tell all by coming clean he hopes he will be allowed to live in Britain legally the man has agreed to be filmed it but does not want his face shown so when did you first go to the UK okay so how long we in the UK for before you two guys made up think about 200 years so what did you do it for money gymnast time to a half years does of the guide I mean I've got a friend as well and communicate me and sometimes do give me some money you have told the truth and everything else here yeah no you didn't take any jobs no okay now have you ever applied for a place to study in the UK no no sure no any $2,000 for what all that's your mm not even a she's I like to hate you you must have East London okay and I would eat ten but when did you guys start dating um was it name if pre pre have an M premier can't really well seven yeah did you tell her at that time how you got to the UK to be honest I didn't falsely told her I wouldn't know me to be honest I think okay but then as time goes on she was to know yeah bolita so when did you contact your solicitor last year last year in China yeah he said he's going on holiday when it comes back so after yeah what does he save us so he said no no go back to no Julie okay okay okay I've been no other questions for you if you want to be a site I look through the documents and I'll let you know what my decision okay thank you very much thank you back in the London Steakhouse and the Ukrainian waitress can't be found on the home office database no you don't do you want to go to these stations are not very nice it's really firesides and the cells are not very nice so so how did you how did you come to the UK do you come in an airplane train the Train yeah you came on the train okay and when you came to this country did you see an immigration officer I'm exposed to me what happened when you came when he came did you show the immigration of senior possible yep and what did you have a visa in the festival no I did the immigration officer ask you any questions no questions so they do not see no questions and they approve that doesn't happen [Music] okay so somebody brought you here illegally yeah thank you that's all we wanted to know she finally admits she doesn't have a UK visa and has played an agent 3,000 euros to get into Britain but the situation is that you've told me under caution that you've entered the UK legally by using someone else's documents you come here you're aware that you're illegally therefore you're under arrest well they take your personal belongings and we're gonna go to our families okay now the officers need the woman's passport to begin the removal process she has told them it's at her house this will be their next destination we're gonna go to the house we're gonna see if we can find their passport we find that Passport we're gonna send her home watch your head as you get back inside the restaurant officers lipping tynin mitchell have a positive match for the mongolian chef first of all identification and scene immigration before we get there in the end and you've just caused yourselves so much more trouble by lying he gave them a false name but now they can cross-check his real identity with the home office database and there's a surprising result come back again coming up a painful decision for the Ukrainian waitress as she's forced to choose between her friends and being locked up in a detention center which one is it Irina which house is it in central London officers lipping tynin Mitchell now know the identity and immigration status of the Mongolian chef he's a failed asylum seeker who's previously been removed from Britain this gentleman give us a false story and caution because true identity and we know that he's a Mongolian who was previously removed so what we're trying to do now is find out how he's reentered the country we're checking we know what's real name is checking the systems now it's fine it'd be sweet if we voting record from liang's in the country in august last year we sent you home didn't we yes right so how did you get back in someone you someone else passport again yeah was a Mongolian past put the ears when you came back in was a French passport or was it your possible wasn't a friend or anything did you pay money to someone how much money you paid a thousand extra pounds this gentleman he's under arrest the man was sent back to Mongolia after spending two days in detention in Lagos Nigeria officer Meighan has made a decision about the man who lived illegally in Britain but now wants a genuine British visa I thought you said you went there right you'll be pleased to know that your solicitor was correct I'm gonna show you your visa thank you you shouldn't have done it that way in the first place so much young person a good solicitor first of all okay thanks very much some adventure you've had you could see a little bit happy madam was quite ecstatic by happy and he's relieved that's it sometimes you do bring a bit of sunshine it was like not video yeah Irina you gonna give you address there in London the enforcement team need to find the Ukrainian waitresses passport so they can deport her but she refuses to tell them where she lives cuz her boyfriend's illegal as well she doesn't want us to go around and nab the boyfriend and she said there's eight other Ukrainian people live in there so I don't think she wants to be responsible for other people's fate the woman hasn't given them an address but the team have managed to find one by using her mobile phone we're going to address in Lewisham we're going to try and find this Ukrainian lady's passport so we can send a home what's your head it's all right it was comic-con Haven Fester's is a road number 27 year number 27 this is your house no you don't live here then we're gonna try the house anyway I've been giving this address as your house okay all right we'll try it we'll try if not we'll go back in the van all right okay yeah all right he address is out of date the current resident tells the officers a group of Ukrainians moved out months ago what's your head sit down to the front or as you say before please sit down please so we have to know where you're living we don't want detain in people and we don't detain them and actually have to the woman lives with her boyfriend and eight other Ukrainians she doesn't want to get them into trouble with immigration are you ready to give me a no we're not gonna take everybody no we just need your address to verify where you live I'll talk to your boyfriend I'll call him you need to think about yourself you need to think about yourself thank you will you take us there will you take us there will you take us to your head please could you show us yeah she's given us a road which is just around the corner from here and she's 50/50 bag giving us telling us where she lives so we're gonna take her there I told her options and it's time to her to give us tell us where she lives otherwise she's going to be detained you have been peaceful I'm right down here on the other okay which one is it Irene now which house today didn't tell us you have to tell us you have to tell us she can't bring herself to give up her friends it leaves the team with no option without her passport she will have to serve time in a detention center waiting for her emergency removal papers if it means the detention for weeks maybe a month that's gonna happen we've given all the options we've hoped for as much as we can but we've got to draw a line somewhere she's gonna do the same while the Ukrainian waitress was in Colebrook Detention Center her passport was handed in by a friend she claimed asylum which was refused and after spending over two months in detention was removed back to the Ukraine [Music] [Applause] you [Music] you

Channel: UK Border Force

Views: 687,535

Keywords: London, Air Control, Maximum Security, Cineflix, Security Guard, Border, TV, Heathrow, Security, UK Border Force, Reality, Police, Border Security Force, Production, Force, Airport, England, Border Security, Reality TV, United Kingdom, Air Traffic Controller, UK, Investigation

Id: jNg-H9yV0f0

Length: 44min 46sec (2686 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 23 2016