Authorities seize more forged passports

Macau authorities have seized an average of 50 forged travel documents a year since 2009, Portuguese news agency Lusa reports citing numbers obtained from the Public Security Police. Three new cases have been reported since January this year, one of which was at the Macau International Airport. Last year alone, 25 travel documents were forged compared to 64 in 2012. According to police figures, in 2011 some 37 forged travel documents were found, while in 2010 there were 78 and 63 a year earlier. The majority of the forged passport holders were mainland Chinese or Southeast Asians who wished to travel to Europe or the United States using Macau as a transit point. Others, the Portuguese news agency says, sought to work here.