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RAID ON ILLEGAL WORKERS

By Richard Wright - Friday, May 16, 2008
NINE people were arrested after five Island restaurants were raided by immigration officers.
The arrests on Wednesday and yesterday (Thursday) will be followed by steps to remove illegal workers from the country, said the UK Border Agency.
The latest purge followed raids on Island businesses in March and others in September that resulted in arrests of illegal workers and prosecutions.
The restaurants raided by immigration officers and police were in Ryde, Wootton, Sandown and Cowes.
An agency spokesman said: “We will not tolerate illegal working. That’s why we are investing more money in enforcement and forging ever closer links with the police. Last year we removed the equivalent of one person every eight minutes, and carried out 40 per cent more illegal working operations.
“If we receive intelligence that a business is employing illegal workers we will act on it and each region has intelligence gathering resources which enable us to quickly act on information received regarding immigration abuse, including illegal working. This will include taking action against employers and individuals where there is identified immigration abuse.”
Powers introduced in February this year mean employers face fines of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker.