The Home Office has arrested 60 moped delivery drivers from major firms in a week-long crackdown on illegal working.
Drivers working for Deliveroo, JustEat and UberEats were arrested across London and the South for offences including illegal working and possession of false documentation, according to the Home Office.
The government department added that the operation also led to the seizure of items suspected of being linked to criminal activity – imitation firearms and other weapons and more than £4,500 in cash.
Illegal working damages our communities, cheats honest workers out of employment and defrauds the public purse— Suella Braverman, Home Secretary
Of those arrested, 44 were detained by the Home Office, pending their removal from the UK, with the remaining 16 being released on immigration bail.
The body said it expects that a number of the arrests will result in voluntary departure from the UK.
Officers were deployed between April 16 and 21 to make the arrests and detentions.
It comes as part of a Government clampdown on illegal working and immigration offences.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “Illegal working damages our communities, cheats honest workers out of employment and defrauds the public purse.
“As the Prime Minister has set out, we are committed to going further and faster to prevent the abuse of our laws and borders.
“The British public deserve a labour market that is fair and honest and must have confidence that goods and services they buy are from legitimate businesses.”
Eddy Montgomery, director of enforcement, compliance and crime at Immigration Enforcement, called it a “really positive result” that “shows why the work we do is so important”.
“By raising awareness of the risks and consequences of illegal working, we are helping ensure businesses are complying with the rules,” he said.
“Our enforcement teams are working around the clock to deter immigration offending and change behaviours that compromise public safety.”
Employers can be jailed for five years and pay an unlimited fine if they are found guilty of employing someone they knew or had “reasonable cause to believe” did not have the right to work in the UK.
