Home Office arrests 60 food delivery drivers

The Home Office has arrested 60 moped drivers from food delivery companies such as Deliveroo, UberEats and Just Eat as part of a government crackdown on alleged immigration offences.

The arrests were made by police and Home Office officers over six consecutive days between 16 to 21 April across London and the South.

Of those arrested, roughly three quarters of them (44) were detained by the Home Office, pending their removal from the UK. The remaining 16 were released on immigration bail.

The Home Office said the majority of offenders were of Brazilian nationality. A proportion of those arrested were Indian or Algerian nationals.

It expected a number of arrests to “result in voluntary departure from the UK”, the Home Office said.

The clampdown targeted those who were working illegally or known to be in possession of false documentation.

The operation also resulted in the seizure of weapons and cash “suspected of being linked to criminal activity”. Over £4,500 was taken under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

In response to the arrests, an Uber Eats spokesperson said: “There is no place for illegal work on our platform, and we take these allegations extremely seriously.

“All couriers who use the Uber Eats app are required to pass a criminal background check, be over the age of 18 and hold a valid right to work in the UK, and we run checks to ensure account holders have the correct documents.

“Any courier that fails to meet these criteria will have their access to the app removed, and we stand ready to work with the police with any investigation.”

A Just Eat spokesperson added: "We have high standards and a robust criteria in place for couriers delivering on behalf of Just Eat. This includes ensuring couriers are over the age of 18, carrying out basic criminal checks (DBS), and making sure they have the right to work in the UK.

"If we find that our high expectations are not met, we will investigate and immediately take action, including removing couriers from our network."

Employers can be jailed for five years or pay an unlimited fine if they are found guilty of hiring someone they knew or had ‘reasonable cause to believe’ did not have right to work in the UK.

The Caterer has contacted Deliveroo for comment.