Two suspected illegal immigrants were arrested at Roshan Frozen Foods as part of a nationwide crackdown on illegal working and immigration crime.
Officers sealed off site exits at the firm, which employs 20 staff, at 10am yesterday morning. All workers were then questioned and their immigration status checked.
UKBA spokesman Simon Ballinger said: “While most of the employees had the right to work in the UK, officers arrested two men. One was identified as being from Afghanistan who had overstayed his visa while an Iraqi national was found to have no right to be in the UK.”
Civil penalty likely
Ballinger told FoodManufacture.co.uk that the UKBA invited local journalists to cover the raid, which was organised upon the basis of regional intelligence.
Asked whether Roshan would be prosecuted, he said: “It’s unlikely, but they are facing a civil penalty, which is imposed upon every firm that doesn’t comply with pre-employment checks regarding the lawful employment of workers. This carries a penalty fine of up to £10,000 per illegal worker.”
Alison Canavan, from the UK Border Agency’s West Midlands local immigration team, added:
“We are happy to work with employers to help them stay within the rules. But any company that takes on a foreign national without permission to work should be aware that it is breaking the law as well as undermining law-abiding businesses.
"Rogue bosses should be warned that they face heavy fines and could end up in jail.”
UKBA statistics show that 570 illegal immigrants have been deported from the West Midlands Area since April 2010, although the agency does not hold specific figures relating to the food and beverage industry.
It also publishes online guidelines for company bosses looking to avoid employing unlawful workers.