Around noon on the 15^th November officers from the UK Border Agency raided the Premier Car Wash business that has been operating at Alby Garage in North Norfolk.  They were acting on intelligence received.

Before officials approached the front of the building other officers had been posted at the rear. Those officers apprehended two men that ran off when approached.

The two males that were arrested were from Albania and both had entered the UK illegally. They will now be held in custody until arrangements can be made to deport them.

Another male, also a foreign national, was detained at the site and enquiries are continuing into his immigration status.

This is very bad news for Premier Car Wash UK as potential fines for employing illegal immigrants are very heavy.  Each illegal worker that has been employed can attract a fine of up to £10,000 for the company.  To avoid the penalty the company will have to prove that they made adequate checks to establish the immigration status of the workers before employing them.

Liz Richardson, who is a UK Border Agency official, stated: “We have teams across the country carrying out raids like this on a daily basis. Offenders should know that there is no hiding place and that where we find people who are in the UK illegally we will seek to remove them.”

These arrests should act as a warning to North Norfolk tourism businesses that take on extra staff during the summer.  North Norfolk hotels should be particularly diligent in checking the papers of applicants that present themselves for employment.

Source: EDP