Bay cops bust 180 illegal workers

Illegal immigrants are getting caught every second day in the Western Bay _ and that's just by highway patrols.
In the year to April, highway patrol units have picked up 180 people illegally living or working in the Bay.
Large numbers are expected to enter the area in coming weeks as the kiwifruit picking season hits full swing and seasonal Hawke's Bay work ends.
In one recent catch, an illegal immigrant from China was stopped after highway police saw him speeding on State Highway 2 near Katikati.
The Chinese national is in police custody awaiting deportation after it was found he was wanted by immigration authorities. His application to extend his visa had been declined because he faced assault charges.
During April and May last year, Immigration officials and Western Bay police caught 22 illegal workers in roadside vehicle checkpoints near Te Puke _ and police were accused of unduly targeting immigrants.
But Bay of Plenty highway patrol Sergeant Ed Van Den Broek this week said they were not being targeted.
They were attracting police attention by the way they drove _ and foreign drivers featured prominently in Western Bay crash statistics.
He pointed to a triple fatality on State Highway 2 near Te Puke on August 22 in which an American man, Robert Cruz, drove on the wrong side of the road and smashed head-on with another vehicle killing himself, Aaron Thomas Moon, 19, and Steven Hokianga, 25, both from Kawerau.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said many illegal immigrants were not being caught. ``It's like rabbits in the daylight. For every one you see, there are 10 more that come out at night,'' Mr Peters said.
He said that in the age of computing, the Immigration Service should be able to track people coming into the country. When they are due to leave there should be an alert programmed into the system.
``They should be investigated immediately if they haven't left when required.''
A significant number of illegal workers were hired in the kiwifruit industry by employers not paying taxes or ACC levies, he said.
The service was unable to give statistics on how may illegal immigrants had been found in the Western Bay over the past year and would not say what was planned for this season. However, nationally in the year to April, 1798 illegal immigrants were ``removed'' from the country.
Workforce Deputy Secretary Mary Anne Thompson said that of the 8.7 million people listed as ``temporary arrivals'' to New Zealand since 1997, the latest estimate was that 20,868 were currently overstayers.
Those found illegally in the Bay included Bangladeshi, Malaysian, Indian, Chinese, Thai and Tanzanian people.
Last week, Naseer Ahmed, managing director of kiwifruit contracting company Nawab Agriculture and Horticulture Ltd, organised a meeting attended by about 80 members of the Katikati Indian community to discuss problems with immigration and work permits.
Mr Ahmed said there are about 600 overstayers in the Bay of Plenty, including many who wanted to work in the kiwifruit industry and resolve their immigration problems.
Progressive MP Matt Robson told the meeting it was ridiculous for the Government to insist that kiwifruit growers use New Zealand workers to harvest their fruit when there were not enough suitable workers.