Crackdown on illegal working in London's chinatown

PRNewswire-GNN London 11 October

London, 11 October /PRNewswire-GNN/ --

HOME OFFICE News Release (165-07) issued by The Government News Network on
11 October 2007
Raids on five restaurants in the heart of London's West End led to over 30
arrests for illegal working, the Home Office confirmed today.

The unannounced raids - part of the Border and Immigration Agency's (BIA)
Operation Zavijava - were carried out at just after 12.30pm in the Chinatown
area of the city. The restaurants targeted were the Royal Dragon, the Golden
Dragon and the Luxuriance Peking, all on Gerrard Street, the Hong Kong on
Lisle Street, and the Special Zone on Wardour Street.

The arrested workers were a mix of Chinese and Malaysian nationals none
of whom had permission to work in the UK. Enforcement teams from the BIA,
assisted by officers from the Metropolitan Police, also seized documents
relating to illegal working found at the premises.

Steps will now be taken to remove the immigration offenders from the country,
and the businesses involved could face fines for employing illegal workers.

Following the operation, Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said the raids
were an example of the Home Office's tough stance against those who break
Britain's rules.

Mr Byrne said:

"We will not be a soft touch for those in Britain illegally.  In fact
we will shut down illegal jobs and take action against dodgy employers.
We're doubling our enforcement resources, and now remove an immigration
offender every eight minutes.

"The first stop is to use tougher checks abroad to stop people coming here
illegally in the first place. So over the next few weeks we will roll out our
biometric visa programme to China, which will mean taking a fingerprint from
every visa applicant. Taken together, we are creating a triple ring of security
- before travel, at the border and within the UK for those here illegally.

"We are also working hard to make it easier for companies to check whether
someone is here legally - but at the same time we have vowed to come down
hard on companies that break the rules or turn a blind eye."

Earlier this year the Home Office announced an action plan to target rogue
employers. Over the summer the department has been in talks with industry
on the implementation of tough new legislation - including prison sentences
and/or unlimited fines for rogue employers. These new fines will be placed
before Parliament for approval later this month.

Commenting on the operation, Tony Smith, the BIA's regional director for
the South East, said:

"I have made it clear I will root out people working illegally in London
and the south east. Immigration officers are focusing on gathering hard
intelligence and acting on it to ensure our laws are not abused.

"We have teams throughout the country who visit businesses to ensure they
are not breaking the law. Our message to employers is simple - if you employ
illegal workers you could be named, shamed and face criminal charges."

Employers unsure of the steps they need to take to ensure they do not employ
illegal workers can visit www.employingmigrantworkers.org.uk or call the
BIA helpline on 0845 010 6677.

Anyone who suspects that illegal workers are being employed by a business
should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where all calls are anonymous.

Notes to Editors

1. Additional details of Operation Zavijava:

* Five restaurants raided
* Over 30 people arrested for immigration offences
* Around 100 BIA and Met police officers were involved in the raids
* Nationalities were Chinese and Malaysian.
* The restaurants involved were the Royal Dragon, the Golden Dragon and the
Luxuriance Peking (all on Gerrard Street); the Hong Kong on Lisle Street,
and the Special Zone on Wardour Street.

2. Biometric visas are now issued in more than 100 countries worldwide,
and last month alone 100,000 foreign nationals provided data before being
allowed to travel.

3. Since biometrics rolled out in September 2006, over 8,000 individuals
have been successfully matched to previous immigration matters.

4. In 2006/07 UKvisas handled over 2.7 million applications - refusing entry
to over half a million because they failed to meet the checks required.

5. By April 2008 UKvisas will have completed the roll-out of biometric data
collection to 135 countries.

6. The Illegal Working Action Plan included a new pilot project to help
British businesses check migrants' identity and right to work. This joint
venture is the first between the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) and
the BIA, and is a prelude to biometric checking services which will come on
stream with compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals.

7. The results of the Illegal Working Action Plan consultation with industry
will be published at the end of October.