IMMIGRATION officers and police swooped on a Luddington farm in an early-morning raid to arrest 22 workers at a Vale company.

Nine covert officers dressed in workers' clothing infiltrated the workforce in Bomfords' packhouse to contain their suspects before extra police, dog handlers and immigration officers, wearing anti-stab vests for protection, secured the building.

After officials questioned 360 suspects and checked their identity and immigration status against Home Office records, five women and 17 men were arrested.

The women - two Indians, two Lithuanians and a Kosovan - were failed asylum seekers, and the men - five Indians, two Lithuanians, seven Poles, a Slovakian, a Ukranian and a Kosovan - were failed asylum seekers, had no permission to work in this country or had exceeded their stay.

Convoy

The two Kosovans were due to be deported today and arrangements were being made to send the other 20 home.

Up to 20 vehicles containing 35 police officers and ten immigration officers travelled in convoy to Manor Farm on Tuesday morning.

They stopped at one point so officers could pile into the back of a rental vehicle, where they were hidden from view as they entered the site.

Once the building had been secured, men and women of varying ages were transferred in small groups to an interview room and then either released or moved to a mobile custody unit.

A Home Office spokesperson said they had been looking specifically for ten suspects working in the packhouse, although they had been expecting to find more, and Bomfords were aware that a swoop would take place at some stage.

The operation, carried out by police officers seconded to work with immigration from forces all over Britain, was timed precisely to ensure pickers had already gone out to the fields and officers could target their suspects.

Bomfords commercial director Nigel Pell said: "During an investigation carried out on Tuesday, 14 October by the Immigration Department, with full co-operation by Bomfords Ltd, out of 360 workers checked no illegal immigrants were found, a small number were found without current work permits or with forged documents.

"As a company we work closely with immigration and other authorities to maintain vigilance to guarantee ethical working practices as required by ourselves and our leading multiple customers."