Two East London men jailed over 40,000 fake IDs
Two East Londoners behind a massive fake ID scam have been locked up by the National Crime Agency (NCA). Bilal Iqbal, 25, from Ilford, and Ummad Ahmed, 32, from Hornchurch, each received six years at Snaresbrook Crown Court on May 22.
They churned out and sold over 40,000 forged driving licences and ID cards across eight years, raking in more than £1 million. The fakes were so convincing only experts could spot the difference.
£70 per fake licence – and extras cost more
The pair charged a cool £70 for a fake driving licence, with extra fees for holographic stickers and raised text that made the fakes ultra-realistic. The dirty money was laundered through a fake window cleaning business.
When arrested in January 2025, Iqbal was about to fly to Dubai, carrying 19 fake driving licences in envelopes. Police also found 21 forged licences in his car and house.
Ahmed’s home was a full-blown forgery factory, equipped with:
- ID card printer
- Laminator
- Blank plastic cards
- Holographic foil
- More than £20,000 in cash
Fake IDs linked to international drug trafficker
The fraud only came to light during a probe into international drug lord Eddie Burton. Burton used a bogus ID from Iqbal and Ahmed to zip across Europe while smuggling over 300kg of Class A drugs into the UK.
The NCA warned the fake IDs helped criminals dodge arrest, smuggle people, and live under stolen identities for years.
NCA cracks down on crime enablers
John Turner, Senior Investigating Officer at the NCA, said:
“These men ran a highly lucrative illegal business, enabling organised crime at the highest level. Their fake IDs let top criminals hide from law enforcement and helped people smugglers provide false UK identities.”
“Taking down enablers like Iqbal and Ahmed is crucial to our fight against serious organised crime.”
