Nine 'illegal workers' have been arrested in a massive police sting in a sleepy UK county. Police and partner agencies reported swooping in on four different locations in a crackdown on illegal workers in Herefordshire last week (Thursday, February 13).

West Mercia Police said that they joined a MATES (Multi Agency Targeted Enforcement Strategy) operation at four locations with Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue (HWFRS), Immigration Enforcement and Herefordshire Council Licensing Enforcement all taking part.

A total of nine people were found working and living in the UK illegally, which saw fines issued to employers and enforcement papers were issued by HWFRS.

Those arrested included four Chinese workers, two men from India, one Vietnamese female and two more Chinese men. They were found in a number of different businesses, including a nail salon, a building site and a Chinese restaurant.

At a site on Southern Avenue in Leominster, four Chinese workers were found living and working on site and all identified as illegal. They were interviewed and processed by Immigration with no slavery complaints.

The four have been bailed by immigration and are subject to an ongoing investigation.

Two men from India were arrested on suspicion of having fake documents at a building site in Lyde and were detained by Immigration for deportation.

At DO’s Nail Bar on Widemarsh Street, Hereford, one Vietnamese female was arrested, processed and bailed by Immigration.

And at Planet Buffet on Commercial Road, Hereford, two Chinese males were arrested, processed and bailed by Immigration.

Police Sergeant Duncan Reynolds, of Hereford City Centre Team, said: “This MATES op was a big success, securing nine suspects arrested at four locations thanks to some great partnership work.

“Those arrested are now being processed by Immigration as further investigations continue into illegal workers linked to organised crime gangs whose criminality has no place on the streets of Hereford.”

Hereford is a cathedral city and the county town of Herefordshire, it has a population of just 52,112 as recorded in the 2021 census. Leominster is a market town in the county, it reports a population just shy of 12,000.