Brits Lose 3,000 Blank Passports

(Manchester, England) Carrying a price of about $3,500 on the black market, a total of 3,000 blank British passports and visas were stolen from a delivery van.

THE FOREIGN Office have admitted a 'serious breach of security' after thousands of blank passports and visas were stolen from an unlocked white van in Greater Manchester when the driver nipped into a shop to buy a chocolate bar.

An urgent investigation was underway today into how the documents were plundered as they were being transported to an RAF base near London.

Authorities said the delivery vehicle had no special protective features and it was less than a mile from the production factory when hijacked.

The Manchester Evening News can reveal that the driver nipped into Yogi's News, on Long Lane at 6.40am on Monday.

He was buying a newspaper and chocolate bar when the raider jumped into the driver's seat and forced the head of the passenger against the dashboard.

The van was driven off with the delivery man on board before being abandoned nearby.

The British Home Office usually handles passports and their transport is via armored vehicle. However, the stolen items were under the purview of the Foreign Office since the passports were destined for overseas embassies. The Foreign Office doesn't provide the same level of security as the Home Office does.

Nevertheless, a Foreign Office spokesperson said the passports contain computer chips which would render them useless on the black market.

I'd suggest that the blank passports have some value or they wouldn't have been the apparent focus of a targeted hijack operation.