Lankan with false ID trapped by licence bid

A Sri Lankan man who falsely used a Belgian ID document to get into Britain was caught out after applying for a driving licence.

Edgar Warnakulasuriya, 40, had already left the UK once after entering the country illegally.

But three years later he re-entered using a false Belgian ID card after paying £15,000 to a man to organise his trip from Sri Lanka.

Kevin Jones, prosecuting at Swansea Crown Court, said the offence came to light after Warnakulasuriya had applied for a driving licence to the DVLA on March 28.

Jones said staff at the DVLA were not satisfied with the photocopy of the Belgian document and wrote to him asking for more information. When he did not reply they contacted police. Officers from the UK Borders Agency then visited his home at Gwylfa Road, Swansea. His wife answered the door but said she was home alone with her children, but officers became suspicious after hearing a noise inside.

When Warnakulasuriya eventually went to the door, he continued to deny his real name, but in his later interview he admitted his real identity.

Warnakulasuriya told officers he had travelled through Europe from Sri Lanka before arriving in the UK on March 22.

Jones said: "He accepts he knew he was here illegally."

Judge Keith Thomas said the courts had to hand down tough sentences for people who enter the country illegally.

"It undermines the security of the country as a whole," he said. Warnakulasuriya, who admitted possessing an identity document with improper intention, was jailed for 10 months. (Courtesy: This is South Wales)