Nine arrests after visit by Home Office

Nine people have been arrested following a Home Office Immigration Enforcement raid on a dairy in Acton.

Officers visited the Freshways site on Eastman Road at around 3.30am on Monday 24 June, where they carried out immigration checks on members of staff.

Eight men and a woman were arrested for immigration offences. Four Indian men and two men from Pakistan, all aged between 22 and 34, were found to have overstayed their visas.

Two men from Pakistan, aged 33 and 44, were found to have entered the UK illegally, while a 22-year-old Indian woman was found to be working in breach of her visa conditions.

Eight were detained pending their removal from the UK and a 26-year-old man from India was granted immigration bail pending his removal.

Another two members of staff were found to be working without permission and were escorted from the site.

Their employer will now have to provide proof to the Home Office that the correct right-to-work checks were carried out on all 11 staff or they will be fined up to £10,000 per worker for employing them.

Paul Wylie, head of Home Office Immigration Enforcement in London, said: “This is the latest in a series of operations we have carried out in west London targeting illegal immigration and illegal working and I hope it sends out a strong message, both to those who are here illegally and those who would employ them.

“If you have come here illegally or have over-stayed your visa it is time to leave. Those arrested by our enforcement teams face being detained until they are removed and will be banned from returning to the UK.

“If you are a business you must carry out the correct checks on your staff or you could end up with a heavy fine.”

Anyone with information about immigration crime can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

25th June 2013