Covid-19 checks at a city clothing factory led to an illegal worker being caught.
Indian national Ranjit Kumar had visa applications to visit the UK rejected four times – but that did not put him off.
He entered Britain illegally and used a forged ID document to secure a job in a false name.
Leicester Crown Court was told that officials made a routine check at Singh Clothing (Leic) Ltd, in Brighton Road, off Hastings Road, on Friday, July 3, to check the factory was operating in a Covid-19 compliant way.
Elizabeth Dodds, prosecuting, said 36-year-old Kumar was stopped by an officer who saw him trying to avoid them by using a fire exit.
He appeared nervous when questioned.
Kumar produced a Portuguese ID card with his photograph, but in the name of someone else who had genuinely been issued with a visa to enter the UK.
Miss Dodds said: “His true identity was revealed via a portable fingerprint scanner.”
Kumar’s home in Haynes Road, off Uppingham Road, Leicester, was searched, and a number of wage slips in the false name were found.
Kumar, who had no previous convictions, admitted possessing a false Portuguese ID card with improper intent, and fraudulently using it to obtain a National Insurance number and employment.
The employers were not aware of Kumar’s illegal status, the court heard.
‘CAREFULLY CRAFTED’ FAKE DOCUMENT
Recorder James Smith told the defendant: “You’ve clearly been working for a period of time in the UK, earning just over £5,000.
“The ID card was a carefully crafted false document bearing your photograph and someone else’s details.
“It was a sophisticated false document used to obtain a National Insurance number, which is the gateway to employment and other services and benefits.
“You knew your entry into the UK wasn’t permitted and you had no right to remain, having been refused a visa on four earlier occasions, between 2014 and 2016.”
Want to know what’s happening with crime in Leicestershire? Get a free daily newsletter – plus breaking news alerts too.
Just sign up to our email newsletter service. Simply type your email address into the ‘sign up to free daily alerts’ at the top of this article.
Click ‘subscribe’ and you can expect your first newsletter at the next release.
Alternatively, click here to sign up online – or join more than 35,000 others in our dedicated Leicestershire crime Facebook group.
The court was not told when or how Kumar was smuggled into the UK.
Sarah Cornish, mitigating, said Kumar wanted to work legally in the UK and had been paying tax and National Insurance.
She said: “He has a wife and two small children and came to Europe, first to Portugal and then the UK, to find work to send money back to them in India.
“He was able to find work in the factory in Leicester, having obtained a National Insurance number.
“His aim was to work and not commit any offences and not to be reliant on benefits.
“He’s been in custody since his arrest and is likely to be deported after serving his sentence.”
Video Unavailable
Kumar was jailed for 12 months.
