Dairy in Eastman Road raided last week

Twenty-four people have been arrested following a UK Border Agency raid on a local dairy.

According to a government website, officers were acting on intelligence when they visited the premises of Freshway Dairy on Eastman Road in the early hours of Thursday 27 May.

The twenty-four, all men, were arrested for a variety of immigration offences, including illegal entry, working in breach of their visa conditions, and overstaying their visas. Twenty-two of the men were Indian nationals, while the other two were Pakistani.

The UK Border Agency will now take steps to remove all the men.

A further three men, two Indian one Pakistani, were also found to be working illegally. They were escorted from the premises.

The dairy has now been warned that it faces a fine of up to £270,000 for employing the men, unless bosses can prove they carried out the correct right-to-work checks on their employees.

Assistant Director Olivia Nuttall, head of the UK Border Agency's Ealing Local Immigration Team, said: "Illegal working is not a victimless crime - it has a serious impact on communities, undercutting wages and taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work in the UK.

"We are happy to work with businesses to ensure they know what checks have to be done on staff, but those who do break the law will face action."

June 1, 2010