Shopper News
Bogus immigration advisor jailed for seven years
3:15pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012
A BOGUS immigration advisor who helped dozens of people stay in the UK illegally has been jailed for seven years.
Winston Kabia, a 45-year-old from New Cross Road, New Cross, created fake employment letters, references and payslips through his false companies to aid foreign nationals’ stay in the UK.
The UK Border Agency was alerted to the case after British Transport Police found immigration documents whilst searching Kabia’s home as part of a separate unrelated investigation.
Suspect passports were seized from him and at his home along with identity documents, ID cards, marriage certificates, payslips and notepaper headed with different company logos.
Counterfeit Home Office letters were also found claiming to show a subject was granted indefinite leave to remain.
Andrew Shortland, from the UK Border Agency’s south London Criminal and Financial Investigation team, said: “Kabia ran a sophisticated scam, designed to help people who would otherwise have no right to be here stay in the UK.
“The UK Border Agency will not tolerate immigration abuse, and as an organisation we are cracking down on it all over the country.
“As the sentence handed out shows, those who seek to cheat immigration laws face heavy penalties.”
At Croydon Crown Court on February 21 he was found guilty of 17 charges of conspiring to defraud the Home Office, two charges of illegally giving immigration advice, and one charge of possessing ID documents with intent.
Kabia, originally of Sierra Leone, was cleared of a further 14 counts of conspiring to defraud the Home Office, while another two counts were ordered to lay on file.