161 London and south east nail bars raided by immigration officers over illegal working and modern slavery
Some 161 nail bars in London or the south east have been raided by immigration officers over illegal working and modern slavery, government officials said.
The Immigration Enforcement-led operation to tackle illegal working and identify victims of exploitation in nail bars has led to more than a dozen vulnerable people being identified as being at risk of modern slavery.
Almost 70 businesses face financial penalties.
The activity was part of Operation Magnify - a cross government, intelligence-led drive to stamp out illegal working by targeting specific 'risk' industries.
During the week of action more than 280 businesses across the UK were visited - 160 were in London or the south east.
All Immigration Enforcement officers have been trained to identify potential victims of modern slavery and trafficking.
As part of this operation, 14 people were referred to the National Referral Mechanism hub (part of the National Crime Agency which deals with slavery and human trafficking) as potential victims, where specially trained officers will take forward their cases.
During the operation, which took place between November 27 and December 3 2016, officers arrested 97 people for suspected immigration offences.
The majority of these were Vietnamese nationals but also included suspected immigration offenders from Mongolia, Ghana, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and India.
Those who are potential victims of trafficking will be offered support. Those who have no right to be in the UK will be removed.
Officers also issued notices to 68 businesses warning them that they may be liable for financial penalties of up to £20,000 per illegal worker found if they cannot provide evidence that appropriate right to work document checks were carried out.
Operation Magnify is an ongoing initiative supported by other government agencies including Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the Health and Safety Executive and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, enabling a combined enforcement approach against exploitative employers who provide low-paid jobs to illegal migrants.
It focused on the construction, care, cleaning, catering, taxi and car wash industries during 2016, with further activity in similar sectors planned for 2017. All of Immigration Enforcement's work is intelligence-led.
The operation follows announcements this year which underlined the Government's commitment to ending modern slavery.
In October, the Home Secretary announced an £8.5 million Police Transformation Fund investment to strengthen law enforcement capability to tackle modern slavery, including over 50 additional analysts, specialists and investigators.