Europe News Desk!! As part of a week-long crackdown on illegal immigration, 60 delivery drivers, including Indians, have been arrested from across London for working illegally, the UK Home Office has said. Drivers working for companies including Deliveroo, JustEat and UberEats were arrested for the offenses of illegal work and possession of false documents. Most of the perpetrators were of Brazilian nationality. A statement from the UK Home Office said Indian and Algerian nationals were also found working in the country without the authority to do so. Of those arrested, 44 were detained by the Home Office pending their removal from the UK, with the remaining 16 released on immigration bail. It is also expected that many of the arrests will result in voluntary departure from the UK.
“Illegal work damages our communities, puts honest workers out of employment and lines the public purse,” UK’s Indian-origin Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in a statement. As the Prime Minister has set out, we are committed to moving more swiftly to stop the abuse of our laws and borders. The British public deserves a labor market that is fair and honest, and they should have confidence that the goods and services they buy are from legitimate businesses, he said. The operation also saw the seizure of weapons and cash suspected to be linked to criminal activity, the Home Office statement said. Following a thorough search of properties linked to the arrests, counterfeit firearms and other weapons were found, while over £4,500 were seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Immigration Enforcement gathered extensive intelligence prior to the operation to identify hotspots for illegal moped delivery drivers. Along with relevant police forces, the Home Office deployed officers for six consecutive days (16 to 21 April) to carry out arrests and detentions. The UK government said it was cracking down on illegal work to ensure all companies and employees are contributing to the UK economy by complying with tax and other rules. More broadly, it can also be a pull factor for illegal migration, often trapping vulnerable people in poor conditions and exploitation, undermining the UK labor market. Employers in the UK can be jailed for up to five years if they are found guilty of employing someone they know or have reasonable cause to believe does not have the right to work in the UK , then they may have to pay an unlimited fine.
–IANS
World News Desk!!
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