Ten held as raids smash bogus students scam

A major scam giving bogus students visas to stay in Britain has been smashed by Scotland Yard.

More than 120 police officers swooped on 12 addresses across London and Essex - including two suspected bogus colleges in Tooting - in dawn raids today. Ten people were arrested.

The raids were aimed at ending an operation which earned the organisers millions of pounds and brought more than 1,000 people to London. The Evening Standard has previously exposed similar rackets in the capital.

The 10 suspects have been detained on suspicion of offences relating to facilitating illegal entry and leave to remain in the UK, and money-laundering. They were taken to London police stations for questioning.

Those convicted of involvement in such a scam face up to 14 years in prison.

Today's action was the largest yet by the Metropolitan Police under the banner of Operation Maxim, an initiative to tackle organised immigration crime. The officers also targeted addresses in Upper Norwood, Anerley, Mitcham and Canning Town during the raids, which were supported by the Immigration Service and Passport Agency. The swoops were also timed to coincide with activity by the South African police service in Durban this morning. Among those arrested today was a Zimbabwean-born naturalised British citizen in his forties.

Detective Chief Inspector Steven Kupis, who led the operation, said the racket was one of the largest known to be operating in the capital.

Tarique Ghaffur, head of the Met's Specialist Crime Directorate, said: "I want to make it absolutely clear that we take a robust stance against those abusing UK immigration laws."