Trio jailed for illegal immigrant trafficking

Three people convicted of conspiring to traffic illegal immigrants into the UK have been sentenced to a combined eleven and a half years in prison at Derby Crown Court today.

Amjad Iqbal, 41, of Parkfield, Chorleywood, was sentenced to four years imprisonment.

Iqbal, a former director of Chesterfield Poultry, had earlier pleaded not guilty, but was convicted by unanimous jury verdict on 27 January.

Patrick McCrudden, 44, of Marland Way, Manchester, and Catherine Anderson, 54, of Beech Court, Lime Close, Salford, had admitted providing forged documents at an earlier hearing.

They were sentenced to four years and three and a half years respectively.

The Judge ordered that both McCrudden and Iqbal should be disqualified from acting as directors of companies for seven years.

Dozens of workers at the poultry factory had forged documents when officers from the UK Border Agency's East Midlands Foreign National Crime Team raided the premises in July 2008 and arrested Iqbal, McCrudden and Anderson.

Computers seized during the multi-agency operation, which also involved Derbyshire Police, the Gangmaster's Licensing Authority and the UK Human Trafficking Centre, had 5,000 scanned copies of counterfeit Romanian ID cards stored on their hard drives.

It is believed these were provided as part of a package to workers from outside the EU to "legitimise" their employment - but at a cost to the employee, which they were expected to work off at the factory as a debt bond.

Inspector Sam Bullimore, UK Border Agency East Midlands Foreign National Crime Team lead, said: "These offenders cruelly exploited others for their own financial gain. Iqbal, McCrudden and Anderson provided counterfeit documents to keep illegal immigrants in their debt, a debt which was worked off for a pittance at the factory.

"Make no mistake, the business these three dealt in was a modern form of slavery.

"Our Foreign National Crime Team, a specialist unit made up of both UK Border Agency and police officers, works hard to crack down on serious and organised immigration crime. We are creating a hostile atmosphere for offenders, who should know that we will find them and prosecute them."

Detective Constable Dave Chambers, of Derbyshire Constabulary's Foreign National Crime Team, said:"This demonstrates the effectiveness of our joint working with the UK Border Agency and we hope it sends out a message to people involved in this type of criminal activity that they will not be left untouched."