New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) Twenty-seven Indians, who were allegedly staying and working illegally in London and Manchester, were arrested by the UK Border Agency in two separate raids, the British High Commission here said Wednesday.


The border agency is now working to remove them from Britatin as soon as possible, a statement from the high commission said.

On Sep 22, UK Border Agency officers visited an Asian supermarket in Southall in West London to check if the staff there had the legal right to work.

A total of 25 staff members, including 23 Indian nationals, were found to have no right to be in Britain and were arrested.

“It is the legal responsibility of all businesses to check their employees have the right to work in the UK," the statement quoted a UK Border Agency spokesperson as saying.

“Where we find people who are in the UK illegally, we will seek to remove them. But we also want to send out a strong message to employers. More raids like this are planned,” the spokesperson said.

On Sep 16, UK Border Agency officers visited a building site in Manchester and arrested four Indian men, who did not have the right to work in Britain.

The supermarket and the agency employing the construction workers now face fines of up to 10,000 pounds for each illegal worker, unless they can prove that they carried out the correct pre-employment checks.