Radouane Bouhafs worked on behalf of organised crime groups, providing them with false documents that they would then pass on to the people they had brought into the UK illegally. They would then be used to make it appear like the holder was in the UK legitimately, allowing them to rent property, open bank accounts, register to claim benefits or get work. He was an enabler for wider criminality. His services would have been a key part of the offer advertised by smugglers and the price they ultimately charged.
Bouhafs, 43, was arrested outside his home in June after being identified as part of a separate National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into a criminal network suspected of involvement in people smuggling. Financial investigators established that Bouhafs had tens of thousands of pounds paid into bank accounts he controlled, without declaring any legitimate income. Bouhafs pleaded guilty to seven counts of possessing false ID documents.
The factory was found in an outbuilding at Algerian national Radouane Bouhafs' home just off the North Circular Road, Edmonton. Investigators described it as a forgery factory, complete with printers, computers, blank cards and other items used to make false documents such as embossed gold foil.
Last Thursday (August 15) a judge at Wood Green Crown Court sentenced him to three years and nine months imprisonment. Completed fake documents were recovered from the outbuilding including Irish and French EU passports, Irish and Italian identity cards, an SIA licence, and UK, Italian and Belgian driving licences.
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