Police uncover ID crime ring

An ID crime ring has been cracked, in a move NSW Police have described as a major operation targeting organised identity crime syndicates.

In Sydney this week the Identity Crime Taskforce executed search warrants in Balmain, Alexandra, Dulwich Hill and Newtown.

Items used in the manufacture of false documents, such as document templates and a laminating machine, were seized. The taskforce also found a large number of allegedly forged documents.

"As a result, Australian Federal Police and NSW Police have formally charged two, people, a 40 year old man from Balmain and a 48 year man from Newtown, with 236 offences under Commonwealth and State laws," according to a NSW Police statement.

The operation had been running since July, when an Ashfield resident handed a CD wallet into local police. The wallet contained templates for creating false identity documents.