A man has been jailed for more than five years for selling forged ID cards and other official documents from his Romford home.
Dmytro Mykhailytskyi, aged 39, of Albert Road, was arrested on May 15 2018 after National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators observed him purchasing forged documents from Ukrainian national Sergiy Mykhaylov, who was already under investigation.
Mykhailytskyi acted as a middle man who sourced documents from Mykhaylov for street-level dealers.
Officers searching his home recovered 16 ID documents in different names with his photo on, along with £4,000, $1,000 and €1,100 in cash.
He pleaded guilty to a number of offences and was sentenced on Friday, September 21 to five years and four months in prison.
Mykhaylov was arrested in June 2018 by NCA surveillance officers outside his workplace in Queen’s Yard, Hackney.
He had been using his home in Falmouth Street, Stratford, as a forgery factory set up with computers and printers capable of producing tens of thousands of documents.
He ran an online business through which he received orders and would post the forged documents to customers all over the UK.
In total, officers recovered over 3,000 completed identity documents, 3,500 passport style photos and 300 Construction Skills Certificate Scheme (CSCS) cards, as well as 40,000 bank cards and £15,000 in cash.
Mykhaylov pleaded guilty to multiple fraud offences and was sentenced on Friday, September 21 to six years and three months in prison.
Mark McCormack, NCA branch commander, said: “This investigation has dismantled a whole supply chain for false identity documents, from the street-level dealer, the middle-market distributors, all the way to the actual forger.
“Document factories like Mykhaylov’s support criminal activity and affect the economic wellbeing of the United Kingdom.
“The type of documents produced could be used for money laundering or to help people gain work or access services in the UK illegally, but may also lead to dangerous consequences, especially if people suggest they are qualified workers in industries such as construction or driving when they are not.
“Shutting this factory down will make it harder for criminals to ply their trade and therefore help to safeguard the public.”
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