POLICE joined forces with the Home Office and carried out a joint immigration visit to a car wash in Warrington.
Officers from the Cheshire Police Northern Protective Vulnerable People Team joined Immigration Enforcement officers in conducting a visit at the car wash on Knutsford Road.
While in attendance, officers arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of immigration offences and he was taken into custody.
Two other men, aged 26 and 28, were arrested by immigration officers and the pair have subsequently bailed and served with civil penalty notices.
Following the visit, PC Dave Carr of the Foreign National Offenders Team said: “We know that many extremely vulnerable people come to the UK in the pursuit of a better life, however, we have seen in several instances in Cheshire alone that these people are instead being criminally exploited.
“This criminal exploitation of vulnerable people is an extremely serious matter and we continually work with our partner organisations, such as the Home Office and Immigration Enforcement, in tackling the issue within our communities and providing any victims we identify with the correct support they need.
“Moving forward, I’d strongly urge anyone within the local community to come forward with any information or suspicions they have and report them to us, so, together, we can help protect the vulnerable and punish the perpetrators.”
Inspector Ian Nesbitt, of North West Immigration Compliance and Enforcement, added: “Today’s arrest forms part of our crackdown on those who abuse our immigration system and exploit vulnerable people.
“Sadly, we know that illegal workers are often sold false promises about their ability to settle and work in the UK, with rogue employers then subjecting them to squalid conditions. This must stop.
“Our message is clear – illegal workers, and those who employ them, will be identified and will face the full force of the law.”
Anyone with concerns about immigration crime in their local community can contact Cheshire Police via 101 or visit https://www.cheshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/soh/seen-or-heard/ .
