An illegal immigrant tried to bring his fiancée to Wales — using the passport of a woman who bore little resemblance to her, a court heard.
Federik Rexha, from Albania, faces deportation after he was caught trying to get Anila Pecaku into the UK so she could be with him in Newport, where he was illegally living on Rodney Road and working in a car wash.
Wearing a Boss hoodie, the 35-year-old appeared at Newport Crown Court on Wednesday. He was jailed for 15 months after admitting he broke immigration law.
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Prosecutor Josh Scouller said another Albanian man was caught on October 20 last year using his own wife's passport in an attempt to bring Ms Pecaku from Calais into the UK. Rexha had been exchanging WhatsApp messages with this man to arrange the crime.
"All the officials realised Ms Pecaku was far too young to be the rightful owner of the passport," said Ms Scouller. "There was a significant difference in looks. Perhaps there was a hope rather than an expectation that the check would be less than proper.
"Further enquiries showed Mr Rexha sent Moneygram payments to Ms Pecaku from September 2020 until July 2021. Police carried out a search warrant of the Rodney Road address and found a false Romanian driving licence in the name of Bogdan Bruma."
When he was arrested Rexha accepted he had used a false Italian document to enter the UK in 2012. He was discovered and deported the following day. He also admitted using false Albanian and Romanian aliases in the UK in 2014. Rexha was deported once more in 2016, but again he entered illegally in 2018.
"He became emotional and upset when discussing the matter of Ms Pecaku with officers. He later accepted he had made a plan to bring Ms Pecaku into the country illegally," the prosecutor added.
Recorder Mark Powell said Rexha "shouldn't be in this country in the first place" and questioned whether he needed to recommend deportation given "he is likely to be deported anyway".
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Though Rexha's deportation would be automatically triggered by a 12-month jail term, he would still have the option of applying for asylum. Mr Scouller said the Home Office's case would be strengthened in an asylum tribunal if Recorder Powell was to make a recommendation to deport.
Graeme Logan, mitigating, said: "This is really a case of a romantic motivation. By the time Mr Rexha was arrested, he had been in a relationship with Ms Pecaku for about two years. During his time here he was working and not claiming benefits. No doubt the Romanian driving licence was being used to assist him in obtaining that employment in car washes where he received cash in hand.
"To his credit he hasn't sought to hide his immigration history. He has been nothing but frank with me. He came to this country to obtain work and more recently to send some of that money back to his fiancée in Romania."
The judge rejected Mr Logan's request for a suspended prison sentence. He imposed an immediate 15-month jail term and made a recommendation to deport.
Handing down the sentence, Recorder Powell said: "Attempting to evade border controls is an extremely serious offence which demands a sentence of imprisonment whatever the motivation.
"You have not been a drain on the state. That is to your credit. However, I cannot overlook the fact that in 2012 you attempted to enter the country using a fake Italian ID and in 2014 you were investigated by the police for criminal damage, released on bail and then you disappeared.
"In 2016 you were deported once again and it appears you returned to this country illegally in 2018. I have come to the conclusion that if you have your liberty you are likely to go underground again".
The judge imposed a victim services surcharge of £156.
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