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Eight illegal workers caught in Kenilworth and Leamington Spa
24 January 2012
Eight illegal workers have been caught following a UK Border Agency raid on businesses in Warwickshire.
Officers first paid an unexpected visit to Bombay Tandoori restaurant, Regent Street, Leamington Spa on 5 January 2012. They sealed all exits before questioning the staff and checking their immigration status.
Two illegal workers were identified. Both were Bangladeshi men who had overstayed their visas. They were arrested and taken into immigration custody.
On 17 January another 2 Bangladeshi men were caught illegally working at Sunum Balti House, Abbey End, Kenilworth. One was arrested and detained while the other was temporarily released on immigration bail.
On 19 January officers made a clean sweep of a car wash in Leamington Spa arresting all 4 members of staff at the Platinum hand car wash, Rugby Road, Cubbington. One of the workers immediately admitted to being an Albanian national and that he had entered the country illegally.
Two of the other workers claimed to be Greek while another worker said he was Romanian. All 3 men presented national identity cards to try and prove their nationality. However, 1 of the officers had received specialist training in spotting forged documents and was satisfied that all of the identity documents were false.
When the 3 men were challenged about the veracity of their identity documents, they admitted they were forgeries and confirmed that they were all, in fact, Albanians. They were all arrested on suspicion of having entered the UK illegally and detained.
The UK Border Agency is now taking action to remove all of the illegal workers from the country as soon as possible.
One of the Albanian men arrested at the Platinum hand car wash in Cubbington on 19 January is also being prosecuted under the Identity Cards Act 2010. Officers recovered his Albanian passport from his home address. He is due to appear at Leamington Spa magistrates court on 17 February.
All three businesses were served with potential fines of up to £10,000 per illegal worker. These fines will have to be paid unless the businesses can prove that they took sufficient steps to confirm the right to work of their staff, such as checking passports.
Paula Burton, from the UK Border Agency's Warwickshire and West Mercia local immigration team, said:
'We are cracking down on companies that employ illegal workers and fail to carry out proper checks on passports and other identity documents. Any business that takes on a foreign national without permission to work is breaking the law and faces a heavy fine and possible prosecution.'
Employers unsure of the steps they need to take to avoid employing illegal workers can find information on the UK Border Agency's Employers Helpline on 0300 123 4699.
Anyone who suspects that illegal workers are being employed at a business can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or visit the Crimestoppers website.