17 illegal workers arrested at caravan site near M32

Seventeen people, all believed to be working illegally as delivery drivers, have been arrested at a caravan site in the city.

Immigration Enforcement carried out the raid on New Stadium Road, next to the M32 in Bristol, where dozens of caravans are parked.

The Home Office said 13 people had exceeded their permitted leave, two had breached their visa conditions and two had breached their immigration bail conditions.

Thirteen of the people have been detained pending possible removal from Britain.

The four people who were not detained have been released on bail and must now report regularly to the Ministry of the Interior.

Eddy Montgomery, director of Immigration Enforcement, said the operation “sends a clear message to those who seek to exploit the labor market to employ workers illegally, and to those who believe they can work here without the proper status – the Department of Home Affairs is committed to enforcing immigration. law and will not tolerate any abuse.

“Our priority is to maintain border security and ensure that the criminals who seek to exploit it face serious consequences.”

Delivery drivers who work for large companies are paid per job and are not directly employed, so they work longer hours and often earn much less than the minimum wage.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has vowed to crack down on those who employ workers illegally, with migrants desperate to make money often taken advantage of and underpaid in unsafe working conditions.

Angela Eagle, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, said: “Those working without correct immigration status and worker rights can find themselves in unsafe conditions and face exploitation and even modern slavery, often facilitated by organized criminal gangs.

“We are taking action to destroy the gangs by establishing the new Border Security Command, which will coordinate the work of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to tackle organized immigration crime.”