Illegal workers targeted in Kent factory arrests

The UK Border Agency has announced that six arrests at a Kent juice factory have been made in relation to illegal immigrant workers and breaches of UK immigration law. The latest incident shows once again that the UKBA and local authorities are continuing their crackdown on immigration as the run-up to this year’s election sees the issue firmly in the spotlight.

In an intelligence-led operation the UK Border Agency claimed that is had visited the Margate location of the Juice4U factory to carry out identification checks on staff. Of the six arrests made, one was of a Pakistani national who has since been detained by authorities while they coordinate his removal from the UK.

The other five offenders also face deportation with two being of Mauritian origin, two from Algeria and one from Iran. All five have been granted immigration bail while their cases are processed. Also in the inspection, officers from the UKBA located yet another foreign national who was already under immigration bail.

The head of the UKBA Local Immigration Team for the region, Carla Johnson, claimed that the latest operation was one of numerous successful exercises aimed at tackling illegal workers in Kent. The Kent team inspects dozens of homes and businesses across the county every week and has asked for the public to aid them if they have any information relating to immigration crime.

The Juice4U group will now need to prove that the mandatory preliminary right-to-work pre-employment checks were made on all of those arrested or they could face fines of up to £10,000 per person.