Three men have been charged in connection with the theft of passports worth £2.5 million from a van in Greater Manchester.
Boxes containing around 3,000 blank passports and visas were stolen in the raid in Chadderton.
The vehicle was targeted after the driver jumped out to buy a newspaper and a chocolate bar from a newsagent’s shop.
A 48-year-old man - understood to be the driver’s passenger - was arrested over the incident and is on police bail.
Three men will appear in court accused of handling stolen goods after passports stolen in the raid were allegedly found in their possession when they were stopped on a motorway.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: “Muneer Hussain, 29, of Dearnalay Way, Oldham, Jawad Karim, 18, of Vicarage Street, Oldham, and Mohammed Shanawaz, 23, of Old Lane, Chadderton, were all arrested when the car they were travelling in was stopped on the M62 on Sunday January 4 at about 7pm.
”They were all charged with handling stolen goods.”
The men will appear before Oldham Magistrates’ Court.
The stolen passports were destined for embassies abroad as they were taken from 3M Security Printing and Systems in Chadderton to RAF Northolt in the early hours of July 28.
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