Two charged over stolen passports

The passports were stolen from a van outside a newsagents

Two men have been charged over the theft of boxes of blank passports from a van in Greater Manchester.

Mohammed Fyal, 44, of Darnley Road, Stretford, and Mohammed Khan, 52, of Cambridge Street, Wernerth, have been charged with handling stolen goods.

The passports were destined for British embassies abroad and were being transported from a printers in Oldham when they were stolen in July 2008.

Both men are due to appear at Oldham Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Three other men have also been bailed over the theft.

At the time the Identity and Passport Service said any missing passports would be unusable because they were fitted with chips, although this was disputed by some security experts.