Border agency staff swoop and arrest eight illegal workers

On January 19 officers from the agency arrested four men who had set up in business as the Platinum Hand Car Wash  on the forecourt of Compton’s Garage in Rugby Road, Cubbington.

One of the workers admitted to being an Albanian national and that he had entered the country illegally. Two others claimed to be Greek while the fourth said he was Romanian.

Three of the men produced national identity cards but an agency officer with specialist training was satisfied all the documents were forgeries. Later they all admitted they were Albanians.

One of the four was also charged under the Identity Cards Act 2010 after a passport was recovered from his home address. He is due to appear before magistrates in Leamington on February 17.

On January 17 two Bangladeshi men working at the Sunam Balti House in Abbey End, Kenilworth, were also arrested. One of them was detained in custody while the other was released on immigration bail.

And on January 5 officers paid an unexpected visit to the Bombay Tandoori restaurant in Regent Street, Leamington, where they first sealed all exits before questioning staff and arresting two other Bangladeshi workers who had overstayed their visas. Both were taken into custody.

All three businesses were served with notice of potential fines of up to £10,000 per illegal worker. These will be imposed unless their bosses can prove they took sufficient steps to confirm the right to work of their staff - such as checking passports.

Paula Burton, spokeswoman for the UK Border Agency 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 taking on illegal staff can visit www.ukba,homeoffice.gov.uk/employers 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, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or click here