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Sun Investigation
BORDER FARCE

Security scandal as refugee from Syria reveals he ‘was waved in’ at a UK airport with a bogus passport – leaving ‘the door open to ISIS terrorists’

Hundreds of illegals are feared to have flooded in last year using the same trick as The Sun investigates security shambles

A REFUGEE from Syria was caught with a bogus passport at a UK airport but still waved in.

The security shambles shows Britain is wide open to ISIS terrorists.

 Over here . . . refugee Aabouss reveals he made it to UK with a bogus passport
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Over here . . . refugee Aabouss reveals he made it to UK with a bogus passport
 On his way . . . Aabouss paid £300 for his passport and travelled to the UK from Germany
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On his way . . . Aabouss paid £300 for his passport and travelled to the UK from Germany

Mohammad Aabouss paid £300 for the document and flew in to Stansted from Germany.

He said: “I was amazed it was so easy. I could have been a terrorist.”

The passport, registered in the name of a man with similar looks, triggered alarms on facial recognition scanners.

 Asylum . . . Aabouss got meals and board in Yorkshire city
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Asylum . . . Aabouss got meals and board in Yorkshire city
 Border farce . . . refugee from Syria's journey across Europe
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Border farce . . . refugee from Syria's journey across Europe

But a border officer asked only where he had flown from.

English-speaker Aabouss replied: “Dortmund.”

The officer thanked him and let him through.

Aabouss then burned the passport and headed for the Lunar House screening centre in Croydon, South London, where he claimed asylum.

 Wakefield escape . . . Aabouss went to Home Office in Croydon before finding help in Yorkshire
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Wakefield escape . . . Aabouss went to Home Office in Croydon before finding help in Yorkshire
 Bogus entry . . . Aabouss paid £300 for fake id in the Calais Jungle
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Bogus entry . . . Aabouss paid £300 for fake id in the Calais JungleCredit: Alamy

He gets free accommodation, meals and weekly benefits and plans to bring over his wife and two children.

Aabouss, who claims to be a 31-year-old interior designer from Aleppo, told The Sun: “I was desperate to get here but amazed they let me in.

“If it was that easy for me imagine how easy it would be for a terrorist with more finances and more sophisticated methodology.”

 Terror risk . . . concerns that ISIS terrorists could have used same methods to get into UK
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Terror risk . . . concerns that ISIS terrorists could have used same methods to get into UKCredit: PA:Press Association
 Syria crisis . . . damage in Aleppo
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Syria crisis . . . damage in AleppoCredit: AP:Associated Press

Hundreds of illegals are feared to have flooded in last year using the same trick.

New MI6 chief Alex Younger has warned the next UK terror attack is likely to “emanate” from Syria.
David Burrowes, MP for Enfield Southgate, called for an investigation.

He added: “We cannot leave the door open to the UK — not to migrants and especially not to terrorists.”

Fellow Tory Philip Davies added: “The Home Secretary needs to get a grip.”

Dover MP Charlie Elphicke added: “This shocking case underlines how desperate people will do anything they can to break into Britain.”

charlie elphicke
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MP Charlie Elphicke is calling for a ban on No Borders militantsCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
 En-route . . . Mohammad leaves war-torn Aleppo at end of 2015
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En-route . . . Mohammad leaves war-torn Aleppo at end of 2015
 New plans . . . facial recognition software triggers alarms but he is still waved through at Stansted
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New plans . . . facial recognition software triggers alarms but he is still waved through at StanstedCredit: Getty Images

Aabouss fled the civil war before Christmas 2015.

He and his family travelled to northern France but were marooned at the Jungle.

He said: “I couldn’t face another winter in a refugee camp, even though the Jungle is now closed.

“We decided I had to get to the UK, seek asylum then get my family here too.

“I hated breaking the law but could see no other way.”

With just £500 to his name he approached smugglers for a passport.

He added: “I assumed it would cost thousands and had no chance.

“But to my great surprise the smuggler said he’d got me a special price, £300.

"I looked at the passport owner’s photo. He looked similar to me with the same short brown, thinning hair and light skin.

“The only problem was he looked ten years older.

“But I was desperate so I handed over the money.

“The man advised me to go to Germany then fly to the UK because few migrants used that route.

"I spent the rest of my savings on a rail fare to Dortmund and Ryanair ticket to Stansted.”

 Warzone . . . Mohammad travelled across Europe by land and sea to France from Aleppo
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Warzone . . . Mohammad travelled across Europe by land and sea to France from AleppoCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Terror fears . . . campaigners fear hundreds more could have arrived in UK by same methods
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Terror fears . . . campaigners fear hundreds more could have arrived in UK by same methodsCredit: EPA
 Seeking help . . . Mohammad got Ryanair flight from Dortmund on his journey
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Seeking help . . . Mohammad got Ryanair flight from Dortmund on his journey

Aabouss landed here on November 15. He said: “At Dortmund I showed my passport at boarding and the gate and was waved through without any questions.

“Although my English is fluent, I have a heavy Syrian accent so anyone speaking to me in English would know it is not my first language.

“I was sweating on the flight over. I was convinced my plan wouldn’t work. But after 12 months in hell at the Jungle I was desperate.

“I believed I would be arrested at border control, deported to Syria and killed.

“Horrific thoughts were racing through my mind.

“The passport looked genuine but I couldn’t be sure and I knew that if it wasn’t, the scanners would pick it up.

“I also knew the biometrics would let me down because I obviously wasn’t the owner, and had no other documentation in their name.”

 Calais Jungle . . . Mohammad purchased the passport in France
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Calais Jungle . . . Mohammad purchased the passport in FranceCredit: Getty Images
 Calais catastrophe . . . Associates who knew him in the Jungle said he used the name Ahmad
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Calais catastrophe . . . Associates who knew him in the Jungle said he used the name AhmadCredit: Reuters
 Jungle row . . . Mohammad used a fake identity to gain entry to UK
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Jungle row . . . Mohammad used a fake identity to gain entry to UKCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Migrant crisis . . . French authorities broke up the Calais Jungle after security fears
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Migrant crisis . . . French authorities broke up the Calais Jungle after security fearsCredit: Getty Images

Aabouss refused to give the name of the passport holder in case of reprisals.

Associates who knew him in the Jungle said he used the name Ahmad, suggesting his Aabouss identity is fake.

It is unclear which name he gave at Lunar House.

He said: “I told them the truth about how I’d got here.

“They took the details and told me my case would take four to six months.

“In the meantime they said I was entitled to accommodation, meals and a bit of money, around £30 a week.”

Aabouss was initially taken to a migrant hostel next to Wakefield jail, West Yorks. He is now in Grimsby.

MI6’s Mr Younger last month said “murderously efficient” ISIS agents were plotting attacks against the UK from Syria.

He said our intelligence services have disrupted 12 terror plots in three years.

Border Force declined to discuss Aabouss’s case after examining evidence provided by The Sun.

Officials also declined to say if the officer would be disciplined.

A spokesman said: “Between 2010 and March 2016 more than 107,000 people were refused entry to the UK, including those travelling on invalid documentation.

“Forgery and imposter detection capabilities have been significantly improved by ePassport gates.”

It's cheap trick

BLACK market British passports that cost £4,000 in the Calais Jungle camp months ago can now be bought for just £300, The Sun can confirm.

The price crash follows a feared glut in dodgy documents.
Migrants who use them are advised to board cheap flights at “off the radar” European airports.
The passports often get handed back to crooks — to be used again.
Brits willing to flog or rent their passports are sought out by smuggling gangs.

A French investigator said: “It’s a very simple but effective scam. Smugglers sometimes use smartphone pictures of their migrant clients which they match up to the faces of British citizens willing to sell or rent their passports.

“This is only possible because border controls in the UK are so lax. It’s a huge business.”
Terrorists who are feared to have used the trick include Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who masterminded the 2015 Paris attacks that left 130 dead.

He sneaked into the UK to meet contacts.



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System's a fiasco

A HOME Office source said: “People caught trying to sneak in should be held, questioned, then put on the first flight back — not ushered in.

“Improvements are coming on stream but we clearly have a long way to go.”
Officials insist ePassport gates have boosted the number of imposters being rumbled.

But the source said new systems still rely on staff remaining alert.

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