Hundreds of arrests have been made across the UK following a week-long crackdown on riders working illegally for delivery firms.
Under Operation Equalize, the Home Office’s immigration enforcement teams launched a nationwide week of activity targeting illegal working hotspots, with a focus on the gig economy and migrants working as delivery riders, it revealed this week.
Between 20 and 27 July a total of 1,780 individuals were stopped and spoken to, leading to 280 arrests for illegal working.
As a direct result, 53 individuals are having their asylum support reviewed, which could result in it being suspended or withdrawn completely.
The results come as the Home Office confirmed enforcement teams will receive a £5m funding boost to ramp up illegal working intensification activity even further. It will allow officers to revisit and re-attend illegal working hotspots more frequently and also “increase teams’ intelligence gathering capabilities to support frontline enforcement activity,” it added.
The results of Operation Equalize come just weeks after the Home Office announced a new agreement with top food delivery firms that will see Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat receive information concerning the location of asylum hotels to help better target people working illegally.
Minister for Border Security & Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle (left), said: “Illegal working undermines our border security and we’re cracking down hard on it.
“That’s why we’ve intensified our enforcement activity right across the UK to crack down on those who think they can evade immigration and employment laws in the UK.”
In addition to the arrests made as part of Operation Equalize, 51 businesses, including retail premises, restaurants and others, were issued with Civil Penalty Referral Notices. This could see them face hefty fines if they are found to have employed illegal workers and failed to conduct relevant pre-employment checks.
The operation was also supported by police forces across the UK, with officers seizing 71 vehicles throughout the week, including 58 e-bikes, as well as £8,000 in cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act and around £460,000 in illicit cigarettes.
Meanwhile, officers made three arrests in Dumfries, Scotland during a joint operation with police and Trading Standards on tobacco control.
The government is also tightening the law by making it a legal requirement for all companies, including the gig economy, to check that anyone working for them has the legal right to do so. This will end the abuse of flexible working arrangements. The new measures will be introduced through the landmark Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
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