A FAKE robbery was staged in a plot to steal thousands of blank passports and visas, a court heard.

Eight men are accused of taking part in an alleged conspiracy targeting 3,650 passports and 8,100 visa stickers.

RAF base
The documents were being taken from a printer in Oldham to the RAF Northolt base outside London in July last year.

They could be used in fraud and immigration rackets and would have been of `huge value' to criminals, Manchester Crown Court was told.

They were taken after the van driver - Stephen Shaw - left his vehicle unlocked and the keys in the ignition while he went into a shop in Chadderton.

But Shaw and his companion Alan Burke did not report the crime, the court heard. Instead, they drove to Knutsford, where they reported it to the Sameday courier firm they worked for.

Mr Burke claimed he had been threatened and attacked by the robbers, but a witness told investigators `nothing about the incident made me think it was a robbery'.

Prosecutor Paul Mitchell said two cars, one a taxi, were later stopped on the M62 and 1,600 passports and 1,146 visas were found in the taxi.

'Phone evidence'

The drivers, Muneer Hussain and Mohammed Bilal Khan, can be linked to Mr Burke by phone evidence, the court heard. Burke, 49, of Hathershaw Lane, Oldham, admits conspiracy to steal. Shaw, 57, of Droylsden, denies conspiracy to steal. Mubashar Iqbal, 22, of Oldham, said to be a link between Burke and the men on the M62, also faces a conspiracy charge.

Nisar Ahmed, of Oldham, denies conspiracy to handle stolen goods. Bilal Khan, 53, of Cambridge Street, Oldham, denies conspiracy to steal and to handle stolen goods. His son Mohammed Shanawaz, 23, of Old Lane, Chadderton, also denies similar charges.

Muneer Hussain, 30, of Dearnalay Way, Oldham, Jawaad Karim, 18, of Vicarage Street, Oldham, and Mohammed Fiaz, 34, of Darnley Road, Stretford, are charged with conspiracy to steal and to handle stolen goods.