Two arrests and £20,000 fines in Newport immigration raids
Two Newport businesses were charged £20,000 each and two people were arrested during immigration raids.
Two people who were in the country illegally were arrested in Newport as part of a multi-agency campaign between West Mercia Police and other groups.
There were 24 enforcement officers in Newport carrying out enforcement checks on Wednesday, part of an ongoing campaign in the borough to make sure the night economy around the town is as safe as possible.
Telford & Wrekin superintendent Tom Harding said: "There were two arrests in Newport, people who were illegally in the country. As a result of that, there was a £20,000 fine issues to each of the employers.
"I was staggered at the amount of powers that Immigration and Public Health have, and at the levels of fines that they can hand out on the spot."
Mr Harding said they had been living above their workplace.
"It was stunning the potential exploitation of how people are working and how they are being expected to live," he said.
"We want to make sure people are safe. If they're here illegally, Immigration will deal with them, but seeing some of their living conditions is shocking."
