PIA steward charged with fraud in UK

LONDON: National Crime Agency (NCA) has confirmed that it’s pursuing a case of fraud against a flight steward of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Officers of the NCA, acting on intelligence, arrested Shaukat Ali Cheema, aged 58, at the Birmingham airport when he arrived on a flight from Pakistan on the evening of Sunday (March 22). The News is aware that the PIA staffer was carrying illegal Pakistani and British passports with him and other documents which could have been used for immigration fraud.
A National Crime Agency spokesman told The News that Shaukat Ali Cheema, a Pakistani national, was arrested by NCA officers and not the Border Control Officers. The spokesman confirmed that Mr Cheema appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Tuesday (March 24) where he was charged with “three counts of possession and control of identification documents with intent to supply, and one count of possession and control of articles for use in fraud”.
The spokesman said that he has been “remanded in custody” and it will be decided during the next court whether he is granted bail and under what conditions. The News is aware that friends of Mr Cheema have started approaching solicitors to act on his behalf and provide bail guarantees but so far no solicitor has come forth to take up his case.
The NCA spokesman told The News that “the matter is now subject to the judicial process” and no further details on the nature of material seized will be provided.