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Latest News
Two convicted for immigration test scam
A man and a woman have been convicted of running an elaborate scam to help people cheat immigration tests by using spy technology, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind. The man, Steven Lee and woman, Rong Yang, both from Redhill, were sentenced to eight months in prison at Kingston Crown court on 11 November 2008 for three counts of facilitating a breach of immigration law. Two Chinese men, Ka Hung Pang, aged 52, of Grace Court, Crawley Road, Horsham and En Zhuang, aged 38, of Deptford High Street, who they helped cheat during the spoken tests were sentenced to 180 hours community work for deception in seeking leave to remain in the UK. Lee, 36, and Yang, 28, were spotted by a member of the public as they sat in a silver BMW 3 Series outside Wimbledon library in March earlier this year. The person was suspicious as they had wires running from under the bonnet to the inside of the car. In the car with them was Pang, who had taken his immigration test earlier that day. When officers arrived they searched the vehicle and found the wires led to a number of electrical items, including laptops, radio transmitters and other surveillance equipment the occupants were using.
Electrical equipment found in the car Initially it was thought the equipment was being used as part of a cash machine fraud, while those in the car claimed it was used to watch Chinese television channels. However, as officers were leaving the scene to take the three people to the police station a fourth man, Zhuang, arrived. Officers stopped and questioned Zhuang. When taken back to the station, CID officers found out that Lee and Yang had been helping him with his immigration 'knowledge of life' test. They had supplied him with a shirt fitted with tiny buttonhole cameras sewn in, a microphone and a small earpiece. Zhuang explained the pair would help the person taking the exam, who may be unable to speak, read or write English, directing them via the earpiece to move their body so the camera could view the exam paper. This is then transmitted back to Lee and Yang who would tell the person taking the test which box to tick. Zhuang had £1,000 with him and during interview he told officers that Lee and Yang had told him during his test that police were searching the car and that he should dump the equipment. He then took them to a local shop were he had left it. Once it had been established by CID officers that the pair were involved in cheating the immigration system, colleagues from the Operation Swale team took over. Operation Swale is a dedicated team of officers based in Croydon who work with the Borders and Immigration Agency to tackle immigration crime.
Sergeant Dominic Washington, from Merton borough and who first responded to the call from the public, said: "Lee and Yang were clearly involved in a sophisticated operation using some of the best surveillance technology available worth thousands of pounds. When we first arrived at the scene it was very confusing as to what exactly was going on. "However, working with colleagues from across the borough and the Met we believe that we have uncovered an established criminal enterprise that may be in operation in other parts of the country. We will now be educating colleagues about this type of crime, and hopefully it's raised profile and extra vigilance from police will deter others from getting involved. "It also appears to be highly profitable and we are now using the Proceeds of Crime Act to seize substantial amount of assets from Lee and Yang."
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