ELEVEN immigration offenders have been arrested by Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers following an operation in Purfleet.
On Thursday (5 February) morning, immigration officers visited Bismah Furniture in Purfleet Industrial Park.
Checks revealed that 11 men, 10 from Pakistan and one from Ghana, were working illegally. Nine of the offenders had overstayed their visas and two were working in breach of their visa conditions.
One of the men has been detained and the remainder were released on immigration bail while work to remove them from the country is carried out.
The business now faces a potential penalty of as much as £220,000 – £20,000 for each of the illegal workers. To avoid a civil penalty the owners must demonstrate that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out, such as seeing a passport or Home Office document.
Officers have made the Health and Safety Executive and Thurrock Council’s planning enforcement department aware of concerns arising from their visit to Bismah.
Lorna Brown, from Home Office Immigration Enforcement, said:
“As this operation demonstrates, we are working hard to arrest and remove those who abuse the UK’s immigration system.
“Using illegal labour is not a victimless crime. It defrauds the treasury of much needed funds, undercuts businesses who ply an honest trade and cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities.
“There are simple checks employers can carry out to ensure their employees have the right to work in the UK.
“Those who chose to ignore the rules will face the consequences. I would urge anyone with detailed and specific information about suspected immigration abuse to contact us.”
Details of the illegal working measures can be found by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tougher-penalties-to-combat-illegal-working
Information to help employers prevent illegal working can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employers-illegal-working-penalties. It includes a new quick answer right-to-work tool to help employers check if someone can work in the UK.
Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact https://www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
