Fake Passport Underworld Unplugged, American, British Documents Sold to
Gambians

The Independent (Banjul)
NEWS
September 27, 2002
Posted to the web September 27, 2002

By Jalamang Jammeh
Banjul

After months of painstaking investigation, The Independent can confirm that
a highly elusive underworld has been in operation in The Gambia, selling
British and American passports, stolen from their bearers.

Preliminary investigations also established that some such passports and
other travel documents belonging to dead or invalid British and Americans
have found their way into Gambian hands, reducing the level of detection by
vigilant immigration officials, some of whom allegedly collaborate with
members of the discreet underworld, who are believed to be Nigerians. They
are equipped with Photostat machines that could replace a photo removed
from a passport with a different one.

This reporter who has been on the trail of such an underworld for several
months, was shown such documents after he pretended to be interested in
acquiring such passports from the underworld. He saw what were evidently
genuine UK and US passports, bearing the photo identities of individuals
who were provided such documents only for a hefty fee.

In the course of his sojourn into the nook and crane of the underworld our
reporter pretending interest in them discovered that the photos of the
genuine bearers had been meticulously ripped off and replaced with glinting
photos of the new bearers, who are advised to pass off as citizens of the
UK or the United States, depending on the passport in use.

It was also established that the introduction of the new brand of Gambian
passports has not gone down well with runners of the underworld, who are
growing rich selling foreign passports to desperate young Gambians eager to
travel to the United States and Europe.

Jalamang's undercover investigations led him to genuine British and
American passports, which according to someone who confided in him were
stolen from their original bearers. In one instnce he was shown the
passport (No 015754314) of one Daniel Eli Meyson who was registered as born
in Connecticut in the United States in 1978. It also bears a signature and
the photo of a man's face.

Jalamang said when he met his 'contact' who declined to take the
investigative journalist to his residence he was told to follow him to a
discreet location 'where the options were laid before me, to express my
wish for either a British or American passport'. He said when he inquired
about the photos in the passports he was told that transplantation would
ensure that he posses anyone of them without arousing suspicion. 'Those
people say there are machines, which can do that' he said.

The Immigration Department could not be reached for comments although The
Independent would continue with the investigation.

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