THIRTY men arrested yesterday during a series of dawn swoops in Southampton were working illegally in the country.

The illegal workers are now likely to be detained in immigration centres pending deportation after flouting immigration law.

As reported in yesterday's Daily Echo, the men were captured at roadside checkpoints that were set up by the police and the immigration service in a bid to catch the suspects on their way to work.

Unmarked mini-buses, large people mover vehicles and several cars were pulled over in the early hours of yesterday morning, each one carrying large groups of men from a number of nationalities.

After being arrested at the roadside checkpoints on The Avenue and Bevois Valley, the suspects were taken to Fareham and Havant police stations for questioning.

A Home Office spokeswoman said the 30 detainees had all violated conditions of their residence in the UK.

She said: "Several of the men arrested yesterday were people who had failed in their application to become an asylum seeker but had remained in the country anyway. They will be detained in centres before they are removed.

"Some of those arrested were working illegally after saying they were in the country as tourists while others were working after their visa's had expired.

"Illegal workers do have an impact across the board on this country's economy, not least because they present unfair competition to those legitimate workers who do pay their contributions and taxes, not to mention the health and safety risks of working illegally."

Among those arrested yesterday were ten Poles, eight Afghans, four Russians, two Latvians, one Estonian, one Iranian, two Indians and two undetermined

The operation, codenamed Tigermoth, was hailed a success by the agencies that organised it including the police, immigration service and Department for Work and Pensions.

Immigration officer Tony McCormack said: "This is the sort of result we were expecting and shows the value of intelligence-led operations.

"We will now deal with those arrested accordingly and examine the information they have provided us with for further use."