US Border officials intercept nearly 20,000 fake driver’s licences in first half of 2020

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – In the first half of 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials intercepted almost 20,000 false driver’s licenses that were sent mostly from China and Hong Kong, but also from the UK and South Korea, Just the News reported Monday. The licenses were sent in 1,513 shipments between January 1 and June 30, CBP officials said in a statement.

According to the CBP website statement, the licenses were destined for a variety of users, but mainly for college-age people in different states. The fake documents had been sent to a number of locations, including Chicago’s O’Hare airport, Louisville, Kentucky, and Dallas, Texas, officials said. The licenses are worth between $250-500 each on the black market.

“These counterfeit driver’s licenses can lead to disastrous consequences,” Ralph Piccirilli, Acting Area Port Director, Chicago said in the CBP statement. “Criminal organizations use these counterfeit IDs to avoid attracting attention to their illegal activities. Our CBP officers were able to identify these very realistic counterfeits and stop them from reaching their destinations.”

The CBP expressed its concern that such documents can lead to “identity theft, worksite enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, fraud linked to immigration-related crimes such as human smuggling and human trafficking.” Moreover, the CBP said, the fake licenses can be used by terrorists trying to evade travel security measures.

The CBP routinely inspects shipments at America’s 328 ports of entry and intercepts a variety of prohibited items including narcotics and weapons as well as counterfeit currencies and goods.

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