AN ASYLUM seeker from Tajikistan who drove a car in Basingstoke with a fake driving licence has been jailed.

Farzin Hakimov, 21, was caught driving a car on Claythorpe Road, South Ham, on August 23 with a Romanian driving licence in the name of one Daniel Petrov.

Although the photo on the licence was of Hakimov, the details did not register on any police checks.

Prosecuting, Lucie Taylor, told Winchester Crown Court on Friday, April 12, that the quality of the licence also indicated that it was false.

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A fingerprint scan revealed Hakimov’s identity, which confirmed it was a fake licence.

He entered a guilty plea at during a hearing at the same court on October 4.

Later, he was stopped again driving a black Mercedes on January 6 in Basingstoke.

Ms Taylor added that the car was insured to someone named James Sykes, with an address in Worcestershire, although the car was registered to Daniel Petrov, who was the alias on the Romanian licence.

Hakimov pleaded guilty to driving without insurance on January 6 and he was told to attend Winchester Crown Court on February 19.

However, he didn’t attend on this day and a warrant was issued. He was arrested on February 29 before he pleaded guilty to failing to surrender.

He has been in police custody since then.

In mitigation, Alec Williams said Hakimov came to the UK lawfully on a work visa. He was studying in Russia before that.

Hakimov was fruit-picking in Kent before his visa ran out. He applied for an asylum after that.

Mr Williams said there is a 'significant chance' of Hakimov being sent to Ukraine.

Mr Williams asked the judge to consider his age and no previous conviction.

“There was a cultural issue in what happened,” Mr Williams said.

“In Russia, he described it was normal to obtain fake documents through the black market. But now he fully understands what goes on in other countries is not the case here in the UK.”

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For not appearing before the court on the scheduled date, Hakimov's  counsel said it was a 'genuine mistake'.

“Hakimov was of the understanding, incorrectly, that his trial date was February 28. The fact that he moved and not keeping in touch with his solicitors did not help in giving that wrong impression.

“He was arrested after he contacted the police himself on February 27 to check where he has to go for the trial. They checked the register and asked him to come to a police station. He surrendered and was arrested.”

Hakimov was jailed for six months. The court also ordered the officers to forfeit his fake licence and destroy it.