It pays not to gossip at work, particularly when you’re an illegal immigrant and the person you’re talking to is a UK Border Agency officer.

A 42-year-old South African woman was cursing her loose tongue when she was arrested by UK Border Agency officers at packaging firm Pak2000, where she had been working illegally.

Pak2000 is based at an office building in St Ives, which also happens to be home to the UK Border Agency’s Local Immigration Team for Cambridgeshire and East Northamptonshire.

Immigration Officer Diana Clark, who made the arrest, said:

‘It was some ill-advised comments which she made during cigarette breaks that first aroused our suspicions and when we carried out checks we discovered the truth.

‘We rely on tip-offs from the public and other sources to crack down on illegal immigration. I’d call on anyone who suspects someone to be living or working in the UK illegally to report it to Crimestoppers.’

Arrangements are being made for the woman’s return to South Africa.

Pak2000 now faces a fine of up to £10,000 unless it can prove that the correct pre-employment checks were carried out.

A tough new civil penalty system was brought in last year to provide a fast and effective way of tackling bosses who fail to carry out proper checks on workers from outside Europe. A fine of up to £10,000 per worker can be imposed for every illegal worker found at a business.

Employers unsure of the steps they need to take to avoid employing illegal workers can visit the UK Border Agency website or they can call the UK Border Agency’s Employers Helpline on 0300 123 4699