12 Indians arrested in UK visa raids on bedding, cake factories

Eleven men and one woman, all said to be Indian nationals, have been arrested by the UK’s immigration authorities in a series of raids on suspicion of being in breach of their visa conditions and working illegally at a bedding and cake factory.

Eleven men and one woman, all said to be Indian nationals, have been arrested by the UK’s immigration authorities in a series of raids on suspicion of being in breach of their visa conditions and working illegally at a bedding and cake factory.

According to a statement from the UK Home Office on Wednesday, Immigration Enforcement officers descended on the bedding and mattress business in the West Midlands region of England following intelligence that illegal work was taking place on-site.

They arrested seven men – all Indian nationals – for suspected illegal working,” the Home Office said.

“Four more Indian men were arrested at a nearby cake factory. They were found to be in breach of their visa conditions, and one was also working illegally. An Indian woman was then arrested for immigration offences at a private home, with further raids planned throughout the afternoon,” it said.

The officials said four of the offenders were detained pending consideration for removal from the UK or deportation to India, and the remaining eight have been bailed on the condition they report regularly to the Home Office.

Meanwhile, the two businesses could now face substantial fines if it is established they employed illegal workers at their factories and failed to conduct relevant pre-employment checks.

“This operation is a clear example of the way we are stepping up immigration enforcement activity across the country,” said Michael Tomlinson, UK Minister for Countering Illegal Migration.