Scam That Involved 2.4 Million Fake Australian Postage Stamps

It started with an Alibaba order. It could end with two brothers being deported
By Kristian Silva

Obaid and Sheheryer Khan with their lawyers outside the Victorian County Court.
Police say they seized fake stamps with a street value of $6 million from Obaid Khan and Shaheryer Khan's apartment. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
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In short: Two brothers from Pakistan could face jail time and deportation for their role in a scam that involved 2.4 million fake Australian postage stamps
What's next: The brothers will be sentenced later this month
It was a scam described by a County Court judge as "a possible assault on the Australian postal system".

At the centre of this highly unusual case are three Pakistani brothers — a so-called "architect" who has since left Australia, and two "minions" who are set to take the fall and face potential jail time.

On Friday, the County Court heard how federal police raided the brothers' Brunswick East apartment complex in March 2021, finding 35 boxes filled with counterfeit postage stamps.

"Police determined the number of seized stamps was approximately 2.4 million Australian stamps of various denominations with a face value of approximately $6 million," prosecutor Simone Tatas said.

Ms Tatas said the eldest brother Faizan Khan, 26, ordered fake Australian stamps from the online wholesaler Alibaba, and then on-sold the counterfeits to local customers at a bargain price.

Obaid Khan and Shaheryer Khan outside the County Court of Victoria, dressed in suits.
A lawyer told the court the brothers did not receive any money from the scheme.(ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
Faizan enlisted his younger brothers Obaid, 23, and Shaheryer, 25, to package up the orders and post them out, she said.

Some of the unwitting victims of the fraud included an online skincare product company and a registered post office in suburban Melbourne.

The counterfeits looked so authentic, Ms Tatas said, they were described by a stamp expert as "high quality" with print that was "a very good replication".

Despite the substantial face value of the seized stamps, the total actual loss to Australia Post only amounted to $10,340.

Faizan left Australia in January 2021, telling his brothers he was going back to Pakistan to get married. During his absence, he continued to manage the illegal operation by giving instructions to his siblings, the court heard.

By that stage, Australia Post had been in touch with Victoria Police and an investigation was under way.

A selection of Australian postage stamps depicting fruit and a black swan.
Australia Post tipped off authorities about the alleged fake stamp operation.(ABC News: Freya Michie/File)
Shaheryer Khan's barrister recounted how her client, who spoke limited English, was confronted by six police officers, handcuffed, and forced to sit on the toilet during the apartment raid.

"He was asked by the informant whether he wanted to do number ones or twos," Penny Marcou said.

"I'm getting emotional," Ms Marcou said, telling the court the brothers were then taken to a "tiny" police cell and questioned without an interpreter present.

"They saw no money from it," she said of the scam.

"They weren't involved in the actual sales or anything to that level."

Ms Marcou labelled Faizan Khan as the "architect" of the plot and described her client as "a minion".

"That's my word. Perhaps it's not a legal term," she said.

A composite image of brothers Obaid and Shaheryer Khan, wearing suits outside court.
Obaid Khan and Sheheryer Khan pleaded guilty to possessing counterfeit postage stamps.(ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
Obaid Khan's barrister, Samuel Tovey, said the seriousness of the crime only dawned on his client when he was arrested by police.

The court heard the brothers came from a wealthy family in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, and that the ordeal had shocked and horrified their parents.

It had also caused a family rift, leading to Faizan being ostracised from his relatives.

He left Australia before police took action and has not been charged with a criminal offence.

Meanwhile, his younger brothers face a maximum of five years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing counterfeit postage stamps, a breach of the Commonwealth Criminal Code and Crimes Act of 1914.

Lawyers for the pair asked Judge Liz Gaynor not to issue a conviction and spare them jail time, a measure that could save Shaheryer and Obaid Khan from deportation. Their future remains in limbo after their student visas were cancelled by the federal government.

"Your client faces a problem of the possible assault on the Australian postage system," Judge Gaynor said to Ms Marcou.

"They've engaged in an enterprise that has the potential to undermine the Australian postage system."

The principle of general deterrence — sending a message to other would-be offenders — is an important factor being weighed up by the judge.

Judge Gaynor will sentence Shaheryer and Obaid Khan on August 16.

A whole lot of people claiming to have done nothing except for the fact that they were sitting on millions of counterfeit stamps.

Another innocent person

Manchester Evening News, 23 June 2023

'Breadwinner' with 'good work ethic' caught smuggling 800 sheets of fake stamps into Manchester Airport

Ogbehudia Adun hid almost 800 sheets of fake first and second class stamps under his clothes

Border Force guards have smashed a plot by a computer science student to smuggle more than £40,000 worth of counterfeit postage stamps into Britain.

Officers stopped 42-year-old UK-based father-of-three Ogbehudia Adun at Manchester Airport after he hid almost 800 sheets of fake first and second class stamps under clothing in his luggage. Initially, Adun claimed the stamps were ''invitations'' but he later admitted acquiring the fake items from his native Nigeria to sell on the black market in Britain.

He came back to the UK via Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris and aroused suspicion due to the number of suitcases in his possession. He was also found to be carrying an excessive number of duty free cigarettes. Royal Mail's security investigators were handed the stamps and later confirmed that they were counterfeits of the Marine Turquoise and Garnet Red stamps first issued by the Royal Mail in 2020 and 2017 respectively.

At Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday (June 19), Adun, of Bodmin Road in Leeds, West Yorkshire, admitted possession of articles in use for use in fraud and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 15 rehabilitation activity days as part of a 12 month community order. He must also pay the court £500 in costs.

Robert Smith, prosecuting, said: "At around 11.40 on the 12th of September 2021, Border Force officer James Pattison was on duty at terminal 1 of Manchester Airport when he stopped the Defendant, who had arrived on an inbound flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport. The reasons Officer Pattison gives for stopping the Defendant was because he was passing through the border control checkpoint after all the other passengers had already done so.

''He had numerous items of baggage, and because Charles de Gaulle is a transit hub, all of which taken together appear to have aroused the officer's suspicions. The defendant was asked about the contents of one of his bags and replied to say that he thought they contained invitations. That prompted a further question about whether anybody had given him anything to bring into the country, and he responded, "just those invitations".

"Officer Pattison opened the bag where he found four, what appeared to be cardboard packages sealed with tape. The packages were beneath some clothing, but otherwise had not been concealed.

"Officer Pattison opened the packages and found what appeared to him to be counterfeit stamps. The paper appeared to be of poor quality and lacked the perforated edges that are normally seen on genuine Royal Mail stamps.

''He also noticed that the stamps had cash values shown on them – namely £2.55 and £1.75 – as opposed to being marked as either first or second class. For reference, the value of genuine first and second-class stamps currently stands at £1.10 and 75p, respectively.

"The contents of the packages included, 577 sheets containing 13,848 £2.55 stamps and 195 sheets each containing an unspecified number of £1.75 stamps.

"Officer Pattison gave the stamps an estimated value of approximately £43,267. Police were contacted and the defendant was arrested. He was interviewed the same day and gave "no comment" answers to all questions asked.

"Following the Defendant's arrest, the stamps were provided to Paul Ackroyd, who works in Royal Mail's security department. Having examined the stamps for the concealed security markings which appear on genuine postage stamps, he was able to confirm that they were indeed counterfeits of the Marine Turquoise and Garnet Red stamps first issued in 2020 and 2017 respectively."

Adun has one previous conviction for drink-driving in 2021. In mitigation, Patrick Williamson said, "The defendant had limited involvement. It is my understanding that he met someone in Nigeria who asked for a favour from him, that being taking a parcel of stamps through customs.

"These stamps were extremely poor quality, and the defendant had bought them back alongside a number of other items. He also bought with him an excessive number of cigarettes, although I know this is a cultural thing. People often try to bring back other things they can't purchase here.

"He realises now that this was a foolish decision, and when he got to France, he realised the error of his ways. He has expressed remorse to me, especially because of the effect it has had on his family. He has three young children and a partner, who he does not currently live with.

''He shares the caring responsibilities with his partner and was the breadwinner of the family. Since this incident, his drinking habit has also worsened. This is something he wants to address.

"He has a good work ethic and has worked consistently since he first came to the country from Nigeria 12 years ago. He has recently started a computer science course at a college in Leeds city centre and he currently brings home around £1400 a month."

In sentencing, Judge Angela Nield told Adun: "Those who are fortunate enough to travel overseas and bring back items from another country are under a responsibility to make sure they bring items that do not upset and frustrate the economy.

"It was clear that these items were a poor copy of those stamps that are created for circulation in this country. You knew that, if in the wrong hands, they could have led to a significant cost to the economy."

It just shows the potential for collectors to be adversely affected by unknowingly ending up with forgeries!

Collectors may just about be the only people other than the criminals to benefit from these forgeries. Most of these forgeries command higher prices on ebay than thelegitimate stamps. Paying face value for something that you have to pay a multiple for online is not too bad a deal.

I would not mind adding a couple of forgeries to my Machin collection. But the forgeries are quite expensive.