http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/man-charged-over-fake-id-documents/2005/08/27/1124563069268.html#
Man charged over fake ID
documents
By Louise Hall
August 28, 2005
The Sun-Herald
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A sydney restaurant owner faced court yesterday on fraud charges
after dozens of forged identity documents with links to an overseas
criminal syndicate were allegedly seized by police during raids in
Waterloo and Kingsford.
The court was told the documents included 10 passports, 15 Medicare
cards, 23 driver's licences, 45 bank cards, 70 cheque books, blank
NSW birth certificates and Australian visa passport stamps.
Alex Rusli, 34, who goes under the aliases of Irwan Irwan and Edwin
Sanjaya Jo, a restaurant owner of Waterloo, appeared before
Parramatta Bail Court charged with 16 Commonwealth and State
offences in relation to the raid, including possessing foreign travel
documents, possessing fake Australian travel documents, possessing a
device for making forged Commonwealth documents, having false
instruments and opening an account with a cash dealer in a false
name.
Police said a further 100 charges will be laid upon analysis of the large
number of documents seized.
Police from the Identity Crime Task Force also raided two units in
Potter Street, Waterloo and Bakso's House Restaurant in Anzac
Parade, Rosebery, during Friday's operation.
In a Waterloo unit the accused shares with his wife, police allegedly
found numerous documents in all three aliases.
They allege Rusli created "identity kits" using stolen authentic
identities and fabricated new ones.
Investigations by Operation Hydra found he had been denied
permanent residency in 1997 in the name of Rusli. It was granted to
him in 2001 under the alias of Jo. He had left and entered Australia
under the name Irwin in 2002 and 2003. Police also allege he opened
and operated bank accounts in false names.
Australian Federal Police agent Warren Gray said the fake identity
scam had links to an Asian crime syndicate operating out of Sydney
which involved stealing large sums of money from credit card and
bank accounts.
"The high quality of the forged documents leads us to believe he was
quite high up in the syndicate," Mr Gray said.
The accused's solicitor Michael Coroneos said there were significant
issues relating to proving possession as a number of people occupied
the premises.
Bail was refused and the matter adjourned to Central Local Court
tomorrow by audio visual link.
Zarqawi 'to attack Europe'
28/08/2005 19:01 - (SA)
Washington - Iraq's most wanted militant, Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who, as al-Qaeda's pointman in Iraq has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks, is overseeing preparations for a major attack in Europe, Time magazine claimed on Sunday.
Citing European intelligence reports, Time said Zarqawi "has been overseeing preparations by highly trained operatives for a large-scale terrorist attack in Europe".
Time did not specify the origins of the intelligence reports, but said Zarqawi has spoken of sleeper cells in Turkey and Iran "in communications with another al-Qaeda leader".
The reports imply that these cells may be in contact with European jihadist groups that previously had no links to al-Qaeda, Time claimed.
Disparate
"The fear is we'll see these disparate, relatively inexperienced groups around Europe hook up with Afghan-trained terror cells, all under the influence of Zarqawi," independent French terrorism expert Roland Jacquard told Time.
European officials say the reports are based in part on US officials' interrogation of suspected al-Qaeda deputy Abu Faraj al-Libbi, captured last May in Pakistan.
Zarqawi has written to al-Libbi about setting up camps in Jordan, Turkey, Syria or Lebanon, European officials claim.
He hoped the camps would provide instruction in European languages to facilitate jihadi attacks in Iraq and Europe, Time claimed.
Zarqawi heads the so-called al-Qaeda Organisation in the Land of Two Rivers and has a $25m bounty on his head.
His group has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks against US and Iraq forces, as well as the killings of foreign diplomats in Iraq.
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