LARGE number of police and immigration officers descended on a Milford Haven hand car wash at lunchtime on Thursday (May 23).
But the tip off that there were illegal workers at the Celtic Car Wash near Hakin Bridge was proved false, with everyone’s papers being in order, The Herald understands.
A spokesperson from Dyfed-Powys Police told The Herald: “A joint visit was carried out by immigration and local neighbourhood policing team.
“No criminal or immigration issues were identified, and engagement with car wash will continue.”
The inspection followed a raid in 2017 when the owner, Sarkawt Abdulrhaman Mohammad, was issued with a £10,000 fine for having one illegal worker. Later however the fine was cancelled on appeal, after Home Office Immigration decided no offences had been committed.
They apologised for the mistake.
According to the Home Office, the bulk their initial intelligence comes from around 50,000 “allegations” per year from “members of the public”.
Most tip-offs that actually lead to raids are classed as low grade “uncorroborated” information from “untested sources”.
Britain’s 20,000 unregulated car washes are known to be at high risk of harbouring undocumented workers.
