IMMIGRATION officers carried out an early morning raid on stalls at the Dolphin Centre, arresting four people as shoppers looked on.

Uniformed UK Border Agency officers, assisted by Dorset Police, swooped on the centre at 9am on Thursday morning, targeting staff working on two permanent stalls selling scarves and beauty products.

A Home Office spokesman said they were “acting on intelligence” that illegal working was going on.

One woman and three men from Israel, aged from 21 to 35, were arrested and taken to Poole police station, where they were still being questioned late Thursday afternoon.

He added: “If it is confirmed that they were working illegally they will be removed from the country and returned to Israel.”

Eyewitnesses said the four, believed to have worked on the stalls for a number of months, were led away quietly.

One man told the Daily Echo: “Four border immigration staff were talking to them for about an hour taking their details and checking them out on their radios. Everyone was watching.

“They took them to a room upstairs then apparently took them away.”

Dolphin Centre manager Stephanie Connelly confirmed there had been arrests, adding: “The Home Office will carry out full investigations surrounding these cases and the Dolphin Shopping Centre will continue to fully cooperate with enquiries.”

She said the raid was only on the stalls, known as retail merchandising units, which are operated by a third party, Retail Profile.

She added: “We are waiting to hear back from the third party operators about what they are going to do with the stands.

“They are not trading at the moment.”


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