Illegal immigrants found in swoop on supermarkets

Acting on intelligence, officers from the UK Border Agency targeted Al Halal supermarkets on Woodhead Road and Great Horton Road on Wednesday afternoon.

Five Pakistani nationals, one Indian and one Iraqi – four of them men and three women – were arrested. One woman has since been released without charge.

Steps are now being taken to remove the immigration offenders – aged between 26 and 45 – from the country.

Al Halal has been served with a civil penalty notice warning the employers that a fine of up to 60,000 will be imposed unless proof is provided that legally-required checks were made on the foreign workers.

The civil penalty system was introduced in 2008 to tackle employers who make inadequate checks on their workers from outside Europe.

Last night Al Halal supermarkets declined to comment.