Federal authorities seize more than 1,000 fake IDs at Louisville's international airport

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Federal authorities seized more than 1,000 fraudulent identifications at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport last week.

According to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the fake driver's licenses were seized on Wednesday, Oct. 12. The seizures included a total of 1,094 U.S. driver's licenses, five Australian driver's licenses, two Canadian driver's licenses and two United Kingdom driver's licenses.

"Counterfeit driver's licenses are used by young adults who have not yet reached the legal drinking age," said Thomas Mahn, Port Director-Louisville, in a statement. "Not to mention the criminal consequences, CBP's interception of these IDs significantly reduces the chances for alcohol to be purchased by underage individuals and hopefully reduces the consequences of these actions, including deadly accidents."

The fraudulent U.S. licenses represented that they were from states all over the country, and were hidden inside the shipment. They came from Hong Kong and were of poor quality, according to the release, missing a number of security features.

"Additionally, the shipment was just being sent to an individual residence, in Cincinnati, which is not typical," the release states.

Authorities say there are more nefarious reasons for the sale of fake IDs than teens simply trying to get into bars.

"Some of the major concerns as they relate to fraudulent identity documents include identity theft, worksite enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, fraud linked to immigration-related crimes such as human smuggling and human trafficking, and these documents can be used by those individuals associated with terrorism to minimize their scrutiny undergoing travel screening measures," said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the Chicago Field Office.