This is the moment immigration officers swooped on a migrant who applied for 13 passports he claims are for his children.
Petrit Musa, 37, a Kosovan national with the right to remain in the UK, was arrested during co-ordinated Home Office raids across London on suspicion of committing conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation after attempting to obtain 13 passports for foreign nationals under the age of two who he claimed to be the father of.
It is believed that the offence is part of a wider plot by organised criminals to gain possession of identity documents that can be sold to people not otherwise eligible to reside in the UK.
Immigration Officer Christopher Quinton, 37, who led this morning’s raid said: “We suspect that this gentleman has submitted multiple applications to the Passport Office claiming to be the father to thirteen children.
“This is something that has happened over a two-year period and there are strong suspicions that he is not the Dad.
“These children are foreign nationals who would otherwise not be entitled to the passport.”
Home Office figures show that as of December 1, 33,684 people had crossed the Channel, with 20,110 arriving since Keir Starmer’s election victory in July.
Like his predecessor Rishi Sunak, Starmer has vowed to “stop the boats” by smashing the gangs and criminal networks that facilitate the crossings.
The disruption of plots such as this morning does little to prevent people from making the crossing but does make it harder for illegal migrants to fraudulently obtain the right to remain.
Quinton added: “Abuse by leave to remain is commonly investigated by officers from my department, this is just one angle used by those who try to commit fraud, and I think the message is that ‘we will find out’.
“These people get a bit arrogant, lazy and they will make mistakes, and we will be there to catch them.
“The job for me over a 14-year career, directives change when new governments come in but for me, my job is to uphold the law, whatever way that looks.”
Home Office figures show that 99,700 people sought to claim asylum in the UK, in the year ending September 2024.
Asylum applications have risen sharply in recent years due to an increase in global conflict. In 2021, 45,318 applied for asylum but this figure more than doubled in 2022, rising to 92,776.
