Cloned Security Industry Authority licences offender handed jail term

The prosecution follows an investigation conducted by the Security Industry Authority (SIA). A routine inspection by the in-house security manager of a Manchester city centre public hospital in 2020 identified multiple cases of cloned* SIA licences. This meant that a number of unlicensed individuals were working as security staff at the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hospital’s security manager referred a cloned licence to the SIA along with incriminating e-mail messages. The SIA’s criminal investigation team identified Olarotimi Ojugbele at an address in Bolton as the holder of a cloned licence.

Ojugbele had no right to work in the UK. He was arrested by Home Office immigration officials in October last year and subsequently detained at a Middlesex-based immigration centre.

Interview under caution

The SIA invited Ojugbele to an interview under caution on 22 September last year. Ojugbele attended the interview and made a full admission to SIA investigators that he used two cloned SIA licences.

Further, Ojugbele said that he worked for two SIA Approved Contractors on at least 70 occasions between 8 October 2020 and 31 March last year. The SIA is actively investigating Ojugbele’s employers.

Nicola Bolton, one of the SIA’s criminal investigation managers, commented: “Mr Ojugbele was prosecuted for using someone else’s SIA licence, which enabled him to work illegally on 70 occasions as a security operative in a hospital. The licensing regime is there to protect members of the public. This is particularly important in an establishment such as a public hospital where individuals can be at their most vulnerable. I would like to thank the hospital’s security team who have been instrumental in this prosecution." 

*A cloned licence is a licence that’s a copy of a genuine SIA licence. The SIA is continually reminding employers to check very carefully for cloned licences using ultraviolet light technology