Teens sell $60 forged licences

A stamp police say was used to fake licences. Photo / Supplied

Teenage forgers have sold dozens of fake driver's licences for up to $60 each in a sophisticated operation that has astounded police.

Two 17-year-olds in Hamilton face charges over their part in a forged licence ring.

Their arrests on Friday and Monday follow a similar Hamilton bust two years ago when 10 teenagers appeared in court over altering or using forged documents to enter bars or buy cigarettes.

City tactical co-ordinator Senior Sergeant Greg Dunn said the operation was "of a degree not encountered in the Waikato before" and an array of computers, laminators, scanners and printers had been seized.

The group had also imported dies, papers and a specialist stamp that replicated the watermark on licences.

"They then produced what we estimate to be about 60 driver's licences which they allegedly onsold, to recoup the cost of their equipment, to associates for prices varying between $30 to $60," said Mr Dunn.

John Laurenson, owner of the Outback Inn bar in Hamilton, said his door staff had confiscated most of the "very convincing" licences over the past three months.

He was loath to say how his staff knew the licences were fake for fear of alerting the forgers but said they were "near foolproof" to the untrained eye.

"I have to say that these are very impressive pieces of work - among the best I have seen."

Mr Laurenson said the licence scam was one of several innovative ways teenage drinkers had found to get into bars.

He said he knew of a disk containing the entry stamps for several Hamilton bars that was circulating around local secondary schools.

"Someone will go into town to a bar, get the stamp, go home and have it scanned and cleaned up and then produce a number of them for their mates," he said.

"The legal framework just does not contain enough penalties with the kind of crap that these kids are doing at the moment.

"They'll get a $200 fine but we can get fined $20,000 and shut down for seven days."

A Hamilton teenager who asked not to be named said he had seen fake identification in circulation two years ago but agreed the licences were more advanced.

He said earlier versions were made with a computer scanner, a colour printer, photo-quality paper and a laminator and could be produced for less than $2 each.

"But I heard that the dies and the Government stamp that these guys use is pretty high-tech and makes these IDs pretty convincing.

"You've got to ask where could they get these things from, especially the stamp ... it's genius."

Mr Dunn expected officers to make more arrests and warned youngsters with forged documents that they should hand them in to the police.

"Those involved have predominantly been underage and are playing for high stakes ... with the penalty for such offending up to 10 years' imprisonment."