This Article is From Jun 11, 2015

13 Indians Arrested for Working Illegally in UK

13 Indians Arrested for Working Illegally in UK
London: Thirteen Indians have been arrested for working illegally in the UK following a raid targeting suspected immigration abuse at a factory in Leicester.

"Police and immigration enforcement officers arrested 13 Indian nationals during a dawn raid at a factory in Leicester on June 4," an official statement said.

Eleven of the migrants remain in custody, while the other two have been released on the condition that they report regularly to Home Office officials.

An additional arrest on suspicion of possessing false documents was made against one of the men.

Officials also stated that they seized cash - presumably wages - under the Proceeds of Crime Act, as well as employment documents during the raid.

"If it is found that the men were working illegally - for example by working on a Visitor's Visa or after their visa has expired - then a fine of 20,000 pounds for each migrant, totalling 260,000 pounds, could be brought against Euro Dyers Ltd; the factory where the men were working," the statement said.

Assistant director for immigration enforcement in the East Midlands Alison Spowage said: "This was a large scale operation targeting suspected immigration abuse in Leicester.

Our investigations will continue with the evidence we have seized. Employers who flout the law will not be tolerated.

"Illegal working is unfair on honest employers and takes jobs away from those with a legal right to work."  

However, a spokesman for the company criticised the arrests.

"We had all the documentation which we understood entitled the people to work legally," he said.

Over 14,000 arrests were made in 2014 compared with about 7,500 in 2011.

Last year the Home office doubled the fines they can levy against employers of undocumented migrants from 10,000 to 20,000 pounds per worker.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "These figures show our intelligence led approach is working. We are targeting industries and areas where abuse is most common and we have doubled the fines for businesses which flout the rules."


 
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