Question reference: S6W-21331
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 14 September 2023
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Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 25 September 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions can be taken to reduce activity in Scotland relating to the production, sale and supply of fake and fraudulently obtained genuine passports for misuse and criminal activity.
Answer
The issue of passports is a matter for the UK Government. In relation to reducing activity in Scotland, Police Scotland act on intelligence to reduce the impact of the use of counterfeit and forged documents and will act wherever suspicion exists regarding whether a passport is genuine or not. Police Scotland work closely with their partners in other key border enforcement agencies and rely on Border Force for their expertise in determining whether a passport is genuine or altered and Border Force staff are used as expert witnesses in cases referred to COPFS.
The following link provides a recent successful conviction in England which does have a Scottish footprint : https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/updated-sentence-three-men-jailed-supplying-fraudulent-passports-criminals