Eleven Indian citizens, who had either overstayed visas or entered Britain illegally, have been arrested following a check of two overcrowded vehicles in Lincolnshire.
They have been held in immigration detention centres pending their removal from the country. Official sources said the check was conducted following receipt of intelligence by a team that included the Lincolnshire police, Gangmasters licensing Authority (GLA) and UK Border Agency outside Grantham, Lincolnshire.
After checking the immigration status of all occupants of the vehicles, and using fingerprint scanners to confirm identities in some cases, 11 Indian nationals who had either overstayed visas or entered the UK illegally were found. One Pakistani man was also identified as being in the country illegally.
The agencies involved in the operation on May 17 suspect that the men were travelling to work on a farm in Lincolnshire, without having permission to work in the UK.
Both vehicles were severely overcrowded, placing the safety of the occupants at risk, and breaching transport regulations.
This was brought to the attention of the GLA as a critical breach of their licensing conditions, the sources said.
Rachel Challis, from the agency's Lincolnshire local immigration team, said: "We are cracking down on immigration abuse across the county. Any foreign national who is in the UK illegally should be in no doubt that they will be found, arrested and removed from the country. Businesses that take on illegal workers should also be warned that they face heavy fines and possible prosecution."