Items alleged to be worth around £2.5m were stolen when the van stopped at a newsagents in Chadderton.

Mohammed Fyal, 34, of Darnley Road, Stretford, and Mohammed Khan, 53, of Cambridge Street, Wernerth, appeared before Oldham Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (13 January).

Muneer Hussain, 29, of Dearnalay Way, Oldham, Jawad Karim, 18, of Vicarage Street, Oldham, and Mohammed Shanawaz, 23, of Old Lane, Chadderton, appeared before Oldham Magistrates' Court on January 8 charged with handling stolen goods.

The passports had been produced at Oldham-based printing firm 3M Security Printing and were destined for British embassies around the world.

The Foreign Office said the stolen passports were rendered unusable by new security features. It is understood that the electronic passports contain a chip that replicates the data printed on the document.