Many Indians are among the 200 people arrested in a UK-wide operation, targeting illegal migrants living in squalid accommodation between January and June 2017, the UK Home Office has said.
The operation was part of Operation Magnify, an ongoing cross-government, intelligence-led campaign to stamp out illegal working in high-risk sectors across the UK.
During the operation in the first half of 2017, officers targeted 253 so-called Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs), arrested 200 people for overstaying their visas or entering the UK illegally, and handed out financial penalties to 24 landlords.
As part of case studies released by the UK Home Office last week, seven Indian men aged between 37 and 56, and a 34- year-old Indian woman were arrested at two addresses in Southall area of west London.
Many were found to have overstayed their visa and have voluntarily left the country, while others had entered the UK illegally, and efforts are underway to remove them from the country, the Home Office said.
Four other Indian men, aged 28, 30 and two aged 47, found at an accommodation in the city of Leicester, were found to have overstayed their visas.
The two 47-year-old men were removed from the UK, while the 28-year-old left the country voluntarily.
Efforts are ongoing to remove the 30-year-old.
"Those who come to the UK to live and work illegally, often arrive with a very different expectation to the situation that they then face. The reality is very different and they will often find themselves at the mercy of exploitative employers or landlords... Those unscrupulous landlords flout the rules by knowingly renting property to illegal migrants as an easy source of profit," he said.
As part of the crackdown, referral notices were issued to landlords warning them that they may be liable for financial penalties of up to 3,000 pounds per illegal immigrant found, if they cannot provide evidence that appropriate Right to Rent document checks were carried out.
The UK government has claimed that as many as 1,000 immigrants from India enter the country illegally every year.
During the India-UK Home Affairs Dialogue in London last month, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi revealed that the issue was among those raised from the UK side.
Operation Magnify is the UK government’s ongoing initiative supported by agencies such as HM Revenue and Customs, the Health and Safety Executive and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, for a combined enforcement approach against exploitative employers who provide low-paid jobs to illegal migrants.
Immigration Enforcement officers and police are trained to identify individuals who are subject to exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery during such raids.
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