Two men, Christopher Zietek and Alan Thompson, have been found guilty of providing fugitive drug traffickers and murderers with genuine passports, allowing them to pass through border control undetected. They were convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, conspiracy to make a false instrument, and money laundering after a trial at Reading Crown Court. The duo provided fraudulently-obtained genuine passports (FOGs) to a number of gangsters, mainly from Scotland. A third man, Anthony Beard, had already pleaded guilty before the trial began. Zietek’s daughter and another accomplice were acquitted. The trial highlighted the flaws in the passport application system and pressure will now be on the UK Passport Office to tighten their rules to prevent misuse. The syndicate used willing men, often with drink or drug problems, who let their details be used. The syndicate would apply with these details, and add a photo of the fugitive who was paying them. Corrupt individuals would sign the photo, confirming it was a true likeness of the passport applicant, who they would claim to have known for a number of years. The Gillespie brothers, Jamie Stevenson, Jordan Owens, and Michael Moogan were some of Zietek’s customers. While the Gillespies are believed to have been murdered in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, Owens was arrested in Portugal before the passport could be handed over. Stevenson was extradited from the Netherlands last year and is due to go on trial accused of drug trafficking and fire-raising, and Moogan was eventually arrested in Dubai in 2021. Zietek’s customers also included Christopher Hughes, convicted of the contract killing of Dutch crime blogger Martin Kok outside an Amsterdam sex club. The FOG passport ruse came to the attention of the National Crime Agency (NCA) in 2018 and Zietek’s home was bugged. For two years, the probe recorded conversations Zietek had with various people. Eventually, the evidence was overwhelming against Zietek.
Men found guilty of making fake UK and Latvian passports for fugitives.
