Scam let hundreds pass driving test

An extraordinary scam allowed hundreds of unqualified asylum seekers to cheat their way through driving tests.

Michael Babayan made £200,000 by planting hidden microphones and earpieces on immigrants as they took their tests so he could whisper the correct answers to theory questions.

The 49-year-old could be jailed today after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to nine charges of obtaining property by deception.

As a result of the con trick, more than 400 drivers who had not legitimately obtained their licences were allowed on the roads.

Road safety campaigners today said they would be "extremely dangerous" to other travellers.

Police also warned that illegal immigrants who do not have licences and drive unsafe cars have become a potentially lethal menace as the number of accidents involving asylum seekers continues to rise.

Babayan, of Acton, set up his cheating operation in a bedsit close to a testing centre in Palmers Green, north London. He boasted a 97 per cent pass rate for his "clients".

He had gained inside knowledge of the driving test system when he worked as an interpreter at the same driving school.

However, in March 2001, he was banned by the Driving Schools Agency after they started to suspect he was helping asylum seekers to cheat.

Babayan then set up the scam and attracted more asylum seekers who had trouble speaking English but desperately needed a driving licence to get work.

Babayan is thought to have helped mostly Afghan asylum seekers. Police discovered the scam and charged Babayan with a specimen nine charges of obtaining property by deception. Unemployed Babayan pleaded guilty to the charges at an earlier hearing.

Babayan, who moved to this country from Iran in 1994, is due to be sentenced today with six other people.

He is expected to face either a jail term or a fine when he appears at Wood Green Crown Court.

Outside his home last night, Babayan said: "I knew it was illegal, but I didn't realise it was that serious. I did not think I would be caught. I am expecting some punishment as I have pleaded guilty. I am sorry for what I have done."

A spokeswoman for road safety charity Roadpeace said: "People should stick to the law. The dangers of having drivers who have not legitimately passed their tests on the road are very serious. Often accidents which cause death or great injury are caused by unqualified drivers."

Rebecca Rees, of the AA, added: "If somebody is not qualified to drive they should not be on the road. Someone who has not passed the test properly is not competent to drive.

"You cannot have someone on the road who may be able to control a car but does not know the rules of the road or what to do in certain emergency situations."

The case followed safety warnings from police which came after an inquest heard how a drunken Polish illegal immigrant killed a newlywed couple as he drove at speeds of up to 75mph, without lights, on the wrong side of the road while five times over the drink-drive limit.

The hearing was told how Wlodzimierz Rogowski was driving a 23-year-old BMW without an MoT or insurance when he careered into Christopher and Ann Mallet's car last Christmas Day in Lincolnshire.

The couple, who married six weeks earlier, died in hospital. Rogowski, a land worker who was using a forged passport, died at the scene.

After the hearing, Chief Inspector Paul Elliott, of Lincolnshire Police, said illegal immigrants were causing an increasing number of accidents because they were buying cheap, unsafe cars and were reluctant to approach police to find out about the Highway Code.