Home Office raid finds unlawful migrants dwelling in transport containers

The Home Office has discovered illegal migrants living in makeshift shipping containers after raiding a scrapyard in Greater Manchester.

Immigration officers carried out the raid yesterday morning after receiving intelligence that migrants working in the UK illegally were living in grubby and rusty freight containers.

They found that the migrants were living in appalling conditions in the Oldham vehicle salvage yard and being paid just £2.33 an hour.

The illegal foreign workers, who were from Malaysia, Lithuania and Belarus, were not only living on site, but also working between 50 and 60 gruelling hours a week.

Officers found makeshift sleeping cabins, fitted with small beds and bathrooms, as well as shipping containers that had been turned into a kitchen and living room.

Immigration officials said the migrants were promised accommodation and three meals a day – but once these costs were deducted it is suspected they only received £500 a month, or £2.33 per hour.

The investigation was launched after two passengers from Malaysia landed at Manchester Airport on May 19. 

They reportedly told Border Force officials they were entering the UK to ‘conduct business at the scrapyard’, but were denied entry to the country.

Environmental Health officers discovered eight individuals, who arrived in the UK between April and June this year, living in the containers on site. 

They admitted to working and living at the premises. Details were they passed to Immigration Enforcement who launched the operation planned to target five individuals in breach of immigration regulations and being paid to work illegally.

After a briefing at the Home Office reporting centre in Salford, where a team of 14 officers were told of the identities of the foreign workers, the immigration teams arrived covertly at the scrapyard before launching the raid.

They rounded up the workers at the large site, filled with vehicles and various car parts, before interviews were conducted and the migrants detained.

Officers uncovered a number of cabins and rusty containers that workers had to live in. Each cabin had two beds inside as well as a small bathroom. 

The freight containers had been turned into a makeshift kitchen and living room with old leather sofas, sports equipment and tables.

In a letter seen by the Manchester Evening News, which first reported details of the raid, the employer indicated that in the case of one of the workers, they had been invited to visit the yard ‘for the purpose of purchasing wholesale orders of used car parts’.

The letter reportedly added that they would be offered a ‘transfer from the airport’, ‘accommodation for the duration of the stay’ and ‘three meals a day and travel arrangements’.

But when they conducted the raid officers found a number of illegal immigrants carrying out work on site in hi-vis uniforms.

Five workers, aged between 34 and 50, were arrested for working in breach of their visa or entry conditions. 

Three of the five arrested, who were Malaysian nationals, were detained. 

The other two, a man from Malaysia and another from Lithuania, agreed to voluntary depart from the UK, so have been served papers and bailed rather than being detained.

Bosses at the company involved could face civil penalty notices of up to £20,000 per illegal worker employed on site – meaning a possible fine of up to £100,000.

The Malaysian nationals that were arrested will now be held at a Manchester detention centre and can seek legal advice before a decision is made on their removal from the UK.

Charles Devereux, HM Inspector at Immigration Compliance and Enforcement for the North West, told the Manchester Evening news that the raid should give a stark warning to rogue businesses who consider hiring illegal workers.

He said: ‘These people are in poor living conditions, which reflects the issues that come from illegal working; people that are in vulnerable positions, some of the exploitation that can occur and some of the expectations from employers for what people who are illegally working can be expected to live in.

‘Intelligence came through that individuals were living in shipping containers, triggering a concern for their safety as to whether these people were being exploited.

‘Specific to this business, we understand these workers have been paid well below minimum wage. Unfortunately, that happens across the range of illegal working. 

‘Vulnerable people are exploited and they don’t know where they can go to for help. Unscrupulous employers will always look for opportunities to undercut lawful businesses.’

The operation was one of many raids that are carried out at businesses across the UK by Immigration Officers to tackle abuse by unscrupulous employers.

Mr Devereux said that after the operation on July 25, the migrant workers who were illegally employed would be detained pending a possible removal from the UK, if deemed ‘proportionate and suitable’.

He told the Manchester Evening News: ‘The Home Office continues to take illegal working as an absolute priority. We know that criminal gangs including trafficking gangs will exploit people for financial gain.

‘It’s so vital to prevent the tragic scenes we see with small boats and people who are taking terrible risks to come here, in many cases, on a lie that is sold by trafficking gangs and criminal organisations.’