A criminal gang who recruited illegal migrants to work as
cleaners across a string of Sainsbury’s supermarkets in the
south-west have been sentenced.
Five defendants were sentenced at Oxfordshire Crown Court today
(August 7) over their roles in the organised crime group who
profited from the facilitation, work placement and housing of
around 40 illegal workers, mainly from west Africa.
The leader of the criminal group, Momodou Chune, 55, from
Oxford, was jailed for six years after being found guilty of
six counts of assisting unlawful immigration and three counts of
concealing criminal property.
The defendants were caught following an investigation by the Home
Office’s Criminal and Financial Investigations (CFI)
unit.
It is estimated that over a decade of activity, the gang profited
in the region of £600,000 from wages of illegal workers and
‘ghost’ workers. The majority of the illegal workers had more
than one name and identity, as Chune created fake employees in
order to obtain more money in false wages from his
employers.
He did this by supplying illegal workers with multiple PIN
numbers which were used to calculate an individual’s pay based on
the record of when they logged on and for how long that person
had worked.
Immigration Minister , said:
“This is another example of the excellent work which Immigration
Enforcement is carrying out around the clock to pursue offenders
and bring them to justice.
“Illegal working not only encourages illegal migration - it
damages our communities, cheats honest workers out of employment
and defrauds the public purse as the businesses and workers do
not pay taxes.
“That is why this government is cracking down on the practise by
increasing our illegal working activity by 50% and relentlessly
pursuing the ringleaders."
Investigators found that, from 2006 to 2016, Chune had abused his
position as an area manager for two companies ISS Facility
Services (ISS) and Exclusive Contract Services (ECS), to employ
illegal migrants to work as cleaning staff at nine Sainsbury’s
stores in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.
Chune recruited each of the illegal workers knowing they had no
right to work. Evidence showed he had control over what the
workers were paid as he had their wages paid into his
accounts and the accounts of those close to him.
He also controlled where some of the illegal workers lived by
providing them with rooms across his multi-million-pound property
portfolio. The court heard Chune would pay illegal workers in
cash but would deduct rent from those he housed.
This included one worker who was paid £250 a month in cash,
however his rent to Chune was £220 a month. Another illegal
worker claimed he was paid £5 an hour cash-in-hand for
cleaning.
Chune, alongside others in the gang, was found to have laundered
more than £310,000 from Exclusive Contract Service Ltd in wages
to illegal workers and fake workers through multiple bank
accounts.
Those sentenced alongside Chune today were:
- His wife Sabbeh Jeng, aged 48, who
was found guilty of concealing criminal property alongside Chune
to the sum of £31,685, and was sentenced to 12 months suspended
for two years.
- Helen Ngeh Tankoh, aged 54, was
found guilty of concealing criminal property with Chune to the
sum of more than £200,701, and was sentenced to 18 months
suspended for two years.
- Ebrima Jabang, aged 50, who
was found guilty of concealing criminal property with Chune to
the sum of £78,638, and plead guilty to possession of an identity
document with intent. He was sentenced to 23 months imprisonment.
- Isaac Nimo, aged 41, was found
guilty of fraud by abusing his position as a supervisor at ECS by
receiving wages he was not entitled to, and was sentenced to two
years suspended for two years.
Chris Foster, Deputy Director of Criminal and Financial
Investigations at the Home Office, said:
“The leader of this criminal gang had ultimate control over these
illegal workers to exploit them for personal gain. This has been
a complex investigation and I want to thank my officers for their
hard work, which has resulted in this crime group being stopped
in their tracks.
“Immigration Enforcement will continue to dismantle criminal
networks involved in illegal working and associated crime,
putting offenders before the courts to feel the full weight of
the law.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- Attached images shows Momodou
Mustapha Chune (30/12/1967) of Oxford, originally from Gambia.
Custody image curtesy of Thames Valley Police.
- CCTV footage showing an illegal
worker taking money from a cash machine at a Sainsbury’s store in
Kidlington and giving it to Chune in the car park, is
available to download here
- The Sainsbury’s stores where the
illegal workers were located were: Wiltshire –
Chippenham, Shrivenham, Trowbridge. Oxfordshire
– Witney, Kidlington, Bicester, Cowley, Oxford St Clements and
Oxford Northgate.
