"Benoy Thomas knowingly breached immigration laws by employing people who had no right to work in the UK," Katie Samways, Specialist Prosecutor for CPS South East, said in a statement. "Many of those he illegally employed were working with some of the most vulnerable people without adequate training or medical expertise, putting the safety and well-being of those who needed care at significant risk. "The Crown Prosecution Service will continue to prosecute those who exploit our immigration system," she said.An investigation by Immigration Enforcement, an agency of the UK Home Office, determined that Thomas assisted the "unlawful immigration" of 13 individuals between 2017 and 2018.He was sentenced to a total of two-and-a-half years in prison and disqualified from being a company director for eight years, the CPS said. It noted that Thomas himself arrived in the UK legally in 2007 from India before becoming a British citizen in 2012.The court heard that he had used his contacts in southern India and knowledge of the UK immigration system to undertake the illegal hiring operation. His trial was told that he also attempted to conceal employment documentation from immigration officers in a garage before his arrest.

Source: The Times December 08, 2025 18:05 UTC