Two arrested in Hereford joint op with immigration officers

Two men were arrested during a joint operation involving Hereford city centre team and Immigration Enforcement yesterday (Tuesday 16 June).

Officers joined forces to look out for potential criminality linked to people working in the grey economy - economic activity that is legal but may be deliberately undisclosed or concealed to avoid tax and enforcement and the gig economy –short-term labour which is sometimes linked to criminals that try to hide workers’ true immigration or employment statuses.

Yesterday Hereford city centre team and Immigration Enforcement were focusing on food delivery riders and delivery vans carrying out patrols on foot around Commercial Road and the Old Market and in marked police cars around Kings Acre, Holmer Road and Three Elms as well as Rotherwas and Newton Farm on the south side, and the city centre.

Within seconds of setting out, officers became interested in a delivery van on Gaol Street, and a man was detained for enquiries.

A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being an overstayer in the UK and absconding. He was taken to a deportation centre ahead of a review by Immigration Enforcement.

Later, in the operation a delivery van was stopped on Grandstand Road.

A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of driving other than in accordance with his licence and driving without insurance. Another man in a separate van was given a Traffic Offence Report (TOR) for permitting uninsured driver to use vehicle.

There were a further seven vehicle stops – two food delivery bikes and five delivery vans – where all was in order.

Police Sergeant Duncan Reynolds, of Hereford city centre team, said: “Yesterday we worked with partners at Immigration Enforcement (IE) to focus on the grey and gig economy around hidden criminality and the potential exploitation of illegal workers who are enabled to operate ‘under the radar’.

“This can be either by a lack of appropriate checks by employers or by those who knowingly commit offences by employing those with no right to work in the UK or no driving licence or insurance.

“This was a successful operation to gauge the level of such activity on Hereford’s streets and roads, and we will be carrying out more of this work in the future.

“Such criminality is often to linked to wider organised serious and immigration crime that often preys on some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.”