Nail bars raided

From the archive, first published Sunday 1st Apr 2007.

POLICE have busted Vietnamese people-trafficking and money-laundering scams in raids on 31 nail bars.

Officers swooped on salons in Leigh, Rayleigh, Westcliff, Southend, Grays, Brentwood and other parts of south Essex.

Some of the premises were found to be fronts for money laundering operations, staffed by illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers from Vietnam.

Officers detained 20 people for immigration offences and sent them to detention centres.

Ten of those have now been deported to Vietnam and the immigration service is still dealing with the rest.

The operation was organised by police, the immigration service and the Department of Work and Pensions.

Det Con Richard Adams said: "Working closely with the other agencies has allowed us to disrupt organised crime, where such premises are used as fronts for money-laundering."

Police seized £7,520 from three Vietnamese during the raids.

It was also found some of the nail bars were not registered for VAT and a number of counterfeit National Insurance cards were seized.

Sheila Clark, of LCN Nails and Beauty, in Southchurch Road Southend, trains reputable nail technicians throughout the south of England.

She said those working in the industry were well aware of the activities of disreputable nail salons.

She said apart from people-trafficking concerns, some were known to use potentially dangerous chemicals such as methyl methacrylate, which could damage nails and even cause lung problems.

Mrs Clark added: "If we know someone who has had this stuff put on, we will not even buff it off, because it can damage the lungs.

"You tend to find if you go to a salon like that, it is cash-only and you can't choose who does your nails."

Mrs Clark said she felt sorry for the foreign workers, caught up in organised crime and the seedy side of the nail industry.

"Some people who work in the salons are victims themselves," she added. "I've heard they get paid, but things like accommodation costs are taken away."