Fake passports not Australian

AN investigation into claims some of the Bali Nine used false passports to enter Indonesia has found none of the alleged fake passports were issued by Australia.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the nine Australians accused of trying to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin from Bali all held only one real Australian passport.

Indonesian police claim at least three of the nine had multiple passports, some of them bearing different names and dates of birth.

Mr Downer said the only way that was possible was if they had passports from another country or had tricked Indonesian authorities with fake passports.

"There is no case where any of these people have in their possession two Australian passports that have been issued by the department," he told ABC's Lateline program.

"What I am sure of is that these people do not have more than one passport in whatever name it might be that has been issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, either in Australia or overseas."

"Perhaps they have passports of another country, in other names, I don't know whether they do or they don't, or they have fake passports but not real passports, that somehow have deceived the Indonesian authorities."

Mr Downer said Indonesia had failed to provide Australia with any evidence to back up its claim of fraudulent passports and said Australia was seeking that information.

AAP

Copyright 2005 Nationwide News