3,000 blank UK passports stolen - isn't that just great

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www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4420850.ece

The Foreign Office admitted a serious breach of security today after 3,000 blank passports destined for British embassies worldwide were stolen from a van.

The 24 parcels, containing blank passports and vignettes - the blank stickers for visa stamps - were taken from the vehicle, which was en-route from a factory in Oldham to RAF Northolt near London.

[claricebeansmum]

Don't tell me the vehicle was left unlocked while the driver went for a cup of tea...

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apparently hijacked near the site of the factor in Chadderton....

maybe it's been posted on eBay together with 2 CDs containing 25m child benefit records

[WendyWeber]

Apparently they'll be no use for travelling because the printed inf has to match what's coded in the chip, but worth c £1800 each as fake ID?

WTF weren't they in a secure vehicle?

And how did anybody know they were in this one????

[TwoIfBySea]

Having worked in the Passport Agency until the new owners (Siemens if your interested) sacked all the casual workers way back; I can honestly say that the amount of people who tried to get the genuine article with fake documents was enormous so I can imagine that this haul has just made someone very rich.