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Nineteen visa applicants arrested in Bangladesh

Nineteen London-bound visa applicants have been arrested in Bangladesh following a joint operation involving the UK Border Agency and Bangladeshi Police.

The group were arrested on suspicion of fraud at the British High Commission in Dhaka.

The applicants were suspected of providing forged documentation and false bank statements with their business visitor visa applications to attend the Boishakhi Mela in East London as stall holders.

The UK Border Agency is working hard with our international law enforcement partners to target the organised criminal gangs who attempt to abuse our immigration system. As this case shows, that work often starts thousands of miles away."

– Philippa Rouse, Director of Visa Services for the UK Border Agency

The Bangladeshi Police worked in close cooperation with UK Border Agency officers in Dhaka, discovering that the applicants had misrepresented their employment status and produced forged bank statements.