Indians held in UK for trafficking, working illegally
by Christine M - September 21, 2010
United Kingdom, 21st September: Nearly 19 Indians were found to be guilty of trafficking and working illegally in the UK, the UK Border Agency officials have stated.
As per the UKBA (UK Border Agency) officials, one of the Indians is behind the bars for having involvement in an immigration fraud.
The enforcement operations carried out by UKBA are part of the nationwide drive to weed out possibilities of sham marriages, immigration crime, illegal work and fake colleges in the UK.
The search operations were conducted by UKBA from August 12 to September 13.
The number of Indians found to be working illegally in the UK is sixteen. They were employed at a Hampshire laundry, catering firm, West London and a racecourse supplier, Merseyside.
And the Indians facing jail term for their involvement in an immigration scam in the UK include two men and one woman. All the three, namely, 42-year-old Kaseepathi Koka, his 39-year-old wife Ajitha and their 32-year-old accomplice Tirunagaraja Prasad Thalla have been jailed for nine months to around ten years for conspiracy, money laundering and illegal immigration services in the UK.
They are facing deportation back to India after finishing their respective jail sentences in the UK.
Human trafficking happens to be a brutal form of crime against humans and overcoming this is a top priority, said a UKBA spokesman. He added that working in collaboration with the law enforcement officials, we feel determined to make it difficult for those who keep eyeing on innocent immigrants.
The UK government has initiated the UKBA for conducting intense enforcement action this summer, stated UK immigration minister Damian Green. He asserted that the UK immigration department will make it difficult for illegal immigrants to come, live and work in the UK.
Green said that illegal immigration places increased strain on public services in the UK. Not only this, even genuine businesses suffer a lot due to a few illegal businesses in the UK. Hence, the aim of UKBA is to eliminate illegal workers, bogus colleges in the UK, organized human smuggling and sham marriages all of which aim for providing illegal stay in the UK.
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