Wolverhampton asylum seeker caught with false papers is jailed
An Algerian asylum seeker found with false identity documents for the second time since entering the UK illegally has been jailed for 12 months.
Abdelkrim Soumes was spotted acting suspiciously near bicycles left near Wolverhampton railway station, the city's Crown Court heard.
CCTV monitors alerted British Transport Police officers who swooped to detain the 41-year-old on suspicion of going equipped for theft on March 7.
A French ID card and UK provisional driving licence were found during a search of his home, revealed Mr Robert Edwards, prosecuting.
Both documents were in the name of Djamel Douam but carried a photograph of the defendant, the court was told. A wage slip in the false name was also found along with a laminator.
The French ID card was quickly recognised as a forgery because it had not been laminated properly while the driving licence was genuine but had been issued with the false name that also appeared on a bank statement. Mr Edwards conceded: "He must have produced some document to obtain the driving licence but at the moment we do not know what it was."
Soumes, who was applying for asylum and therefore not allowed to work, had taken on the bogus identity to get a job because he could not claim benefits and was desperate for cash.
The defendant, who came into the country illegally without official identity documents in 1998, was jailed for 10 months for a similar offence involving a bogus French ID card in February 2014. His application for asylum was refused and he is currently awaiting the outcome of an appeal.
Mr Stephen Hamblett, defending, said: "Out of desperation he got a job using a false identity because he knew he could not work under his own name while applying for asylum."
Soumes, from Rayleigh Road, Pennfields, pleaded guilty to possession of the ID card and driving licence with improper intention. The initial allegation of going equipped for theft was not proceeded with.
He was jailed for 12 months and will be deported on completion of the sentence. Judge Peter Barrie who told him: "I take into account the predicament you were in but you knew perfectly well that you should not have false documents."
