A ZIMBABWEAN woman has been jailed for 18 months after forging her birth certificate to stay in Britain.
Mavu Chinyani, 38, of London Road, Ashford, was jailed on September 17 for fraud by false representation at Croydon Crown Court, after denying the crime.
The court heard how Chinyani tried to con immigration officials into believing she had a British mother, who had given birth to her in Africa.
But officers from the UK Border Agency's West London immigration crime team discovered that that the woman Chinyani claimed was her mother was now deceased.
They then tracked down the real daughter of the woman, who confirmed she was an only child, and that her mother had never travelled to Africa.
Chinyani was arrested on February 3 this year and charged with fraud by false representation.
She will be deported at the end of her sentence.
Gareth Redmond, area director of the UK Border Agency, said: "We now have teams of specialist officers working to investigate exactly this kind of crime. This is another example of their success.
“This was not a victimless crime. I can only imagine the distress caused to the family who found out a relative’s identity had been used in this way. I’m grateful for their help with the investigation.
“We and our law enforcement partners will continue to work to identify criminal activity like this and remove those who have no right to be in this country.” - Staines News