Twelve arrested in South London raids
08 June 2012
Twelve people have been arrested following 3 separate UK Border Agency raids in Croydon.
Acting on intelligence, officers visited 2 residential addresses on Broad Green, Croydon, at 6:50am and 7:20am on Wednesday 6 June 2012 and the Mirch Masala restaurant on Southend Road, at 5pm on Thursday 31 May 2012.
At the first residential address they arrested a 21-year-old Pakistani male who had sought leave to remain by deception. At the second location they arrested 8 male Indian nationals aged between 23 and 46 who had all overstayed their visas.
Officers carried out checks on staff at Mirch Masala to ensure they had the right-to-work in the UK. They arrested 3 students who had overstayed their visas, a 19-year-old Afghani male and Pakistani men aged 22 and 28. The 22-year-old attempted to escape through the back door but was stopped by officers.
The restaurant was served with a notice warning it could be fined up to £10,000 for each illegal worker arrested unless it can prove to us that the correct right-to-work checks were carried out.
Eleven of the 12 arrested are currently in immigration detention while the we take steps to remove them from the country at the earliest possible opportunity. A 26-year-old Indian has been granted immigration bail while his case is dealt with.
Paula Tucker, head of the UK Border Agency's Croydon local immigration team, said:
'We carry out hundreds of operations like this every year across London, and where we find people who are in the UK illegally we will seek to remove them.
'Illegal working has a serious impact on communities, undermining legitimate businesses and taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.
'We're happy to work with businesses to let them know what checks need to be done on staff, but those who do break the law should know that we are out there looking for them and they will face heavy fines.'
Every year, the UK Border Agency imposes civil penalties on thousands of companies which fail to carry out proper right-to-work checks on staff.
Employers unsure of the steps they need to take to avoid employing illegal workers can visit the Preventing illegal working section, or they can call the UK Border Agency's Employers Helpline on 0300 123 4699.
Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or complete the Report immigration crime form
Source:-
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...07-london-raid
Originally Posted by bigmarco
- if £10k fines were commonplace the UK would be full of boarded up Indian restaurants
