A man has been jailed and recommended for deportation after being found guilty of illegally working in the UK.

Manjit Multani, a 34-year-old Indian national from Luton, pleaded guilty at Luton Crown Court last month to eight charges including misuse of identity documents and fraudulently obtaining leave to remain in the UK. He was jailed for a total of 18 months.

Following an investigation by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), it was discovered Mr Multani had paid someone to sit the health and safety tests required to obtain the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card and Construction Plant Certification Scheme (CPCS) card. He then used the cards to work on various building sites across London and Milton Keynes.

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In addition, he also used a number of fake names in order to work illegally in the UK.

Mr Multani was subsequently arrested by Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers in February but failed to answer his bail. He was then arrested again on motoring offences when they discovered he was wanted by police.

Ian Sidney, Fraud Investigator at the CITB, led the investigation into Mr Multani and immediately his CPCS card in February after the tip off from the Home Office.

He said: "The risks these people pose when illegally working in the construction industry are huge, so it’s encouraging to see that those who do brought to justice. Fraud is incredibly damaging to the reputation of the industry and worse, it puts people’s lives in jeopardy.

"Building sites can be hazardous if workers do not have the relevant training and qualifications, so it is lucky one was injured. We simply will not tolerate any illegal activities and will continue to work with the police to prosecute fraudsters."

(LM)