Cesspit exposes immigration scam
BBC NEWS
August 5, 2008
The stench from a home-made cesspit has exposed a group of 14 illegal immigrants crowded into a three-bedroom home in north-west London.
Police raided the house in Wealdstone on Tuesday after neighbours complained of a smell coming from a trench in the garden being used as a toilet.
The illegal immigrants, all men, are thought to be Chinese nationals.
Immigration officials arrested two residents who are thought to have organised the living arrangements.
Police and immigration officers found the cesspit in the back garden of the property.
'Clear danger'
Inside the house, the whole floor area was crammed with mattresses and the occupants had converted a downstairs living room into a makeshift bedroom.
Officers also found examples of dangerous wiring, including seven rice cookers running from one power point.
Harrow councillor Susan Hall said: “Illegal houses of multiple occupation present a clear danger to those living in them and a nuisance to those living nearby – in this case neighbours who were disturbed by smells.”
The residents, who are believed to work in the construction industry, were collectively paying 1,000 a month in rent, the council said.
