Seven arrested and unlicensed Viagra seized after immigration raid
Seven people were arrested and thousands of unlicensed Viagra pills seized following a raid by Home Office immigration enforcement officers
Seized: unlicensed viagra pills stopped from reaching the illegal market
Seven people have been arrested and thousands of suspected unlicensed viagra pills have been seized after Home Office immigration enforcement officers raided a residential property in Southall.
Acting on intelligence, officers visited the address on Lady Margaret Road at around 6am on Thursday 18 April, where they carried out immigration checks on those there.
Five Indian men aged between 25 and 43 were arrested for overstaying their visas. Four of the five were detained pending their removal from the UK, while one was granted immigration bail while steps are taken to remove him.
A 37-year-old Egyptian man was arrested for entering the UK illegally. He too was detained pending his removal.
Viagra
Another 37-year-old Egyptian man Hany Mohamed Moustafa El Kady was arrested on suspicion of obtaining leave to remain by deception and possession of a false ID document. He was later charged and appeared before Ealing Magistrates on Friday 19 April. He pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to six months in prison.
During their search of the premises immigration enforcement officers uncovered hundreds of thousands of what are believed to be unlicensed Viagra and weight loss tablets. It is thought they had a potential value of around £500,000.
These have now been referred to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulation Authority (MHRA) for further investigation.
Rolls of suspected counterfeit labels for branded whisky and vodka bottles were also discovered, alongside a number of bottles of alcohol. These have been referred to HM Revenue and Customs for checks.
Black market
Assistant director Sarah Burton, head of the Home Office’s west London immigration enforcement Team, said:
“It was an excellent piece of work by all officers involved. Not only did they detain a number of people who were in the UK illegally, but they’ve also potentially prevented a significant quantity of black-market pills making it onto our streets.
“This was the latest in a series of operations targeting illegal immigration in West London, and for those who are in living and working here illegally there is no hiding place.”
[More information and contact details for Home Office immigration enforcement teams in the South East]http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/your-region/london-se/local-immigration-teams/ “South East teams”)
Anyone with information about immigration crime can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously.