http://www.echo-news.co.uk/NEWS/11648361.Police_arrest____illegal_immigrant_beggars____in_Laindon/?ref=rss
Police arrest ‘illegal immigrant beggars’
Police arrest ‘illegal immigrant beggars’ in Laindon
First published 01:30 Monday 8 December 2014 in News
Last updated 08:16 Monday 8 December 2014by Carri-Ann Taylor
ILLEGAL immigrants were smuggled through the Port of Tilbury and ended up
begging on the streets of Laindon.
Police and the Border Force have launched a joint operation to find out how
the group, who were dressed in rags, were smuggled in to the UK. It is
thought the two men and a woman come from Eritrea, on the Horn of Africa,
which has one of the world’s worst records on human rights.
Police were alerted by people who had been approached by the trio at bus
stops in Mandeville Way. The three were reportedly dressed in ripped and
dirty clothing, spoke little English and appeared to be lost.
They were asking for “English money” and “English SIM cards”.
Eritrea has no official language and it is expected the authorities will
have to hire translators to communicate with the three.
As the Echo went to press, it was not known how the trio got in to the
country, or how they got from Tilbury to Laindon.
Kevin Walby, who runs Stay and Play, said one of his employees was
approached by them.
He said: “A staff member got off a bus in Durham Road when two young guys
and a woman approached her and asked for SIM cards and money. They did not
threaten her, but we were worried about her so I went and picked her up.
The police picked the three of them up near the petrol station.”
A Border Force spokesman said: “We had a referral from police about three
suspected immigration offenders arrested in Basildon on Thursday. The
suspects are being questioned.” In August a man died after 35 people,
including children, were found in a shipping container at Tilbury.
Received on Mon Dec 08 2014 - 19:40:13 EST