AN AFGHANISTANI selling phone accessories on the Crystal Palace Triangle was arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally during a licensing operation last month.
The joint operation was being conducted jointly by both Croydon and Lambeth Metropolitan Police services, the UK Border Agency and Croydon Council's licensing team in Upper Norwood on Thursday, November 27.
The Advertiser was invited out with the Crystal Palace Triangle Safer Neighbourhood Team and saw checks being carried out on a number of off-licences in the area.
Despite us being told the checks were unlikely to bring up any real issues, a man working from a kiosk in the corner of the Post Office, in Westow Street, was questioned by officers as to his status in the country.
The man failed to answer the UKBA immigration officer's questions appropriately, leading to further checks from the officer.
He said he was 48 but gave his year of birth as 1972, making him 42, and he was unable to tell them his address, despite claiming to have been in the country since 2002.
The man was cuffed and placed in a police van and taken to the Windmill Road Custody Centre.
He had been working in the phone accessories section of the Post Office which was rented by another businessman. The owner of the phone business, who was not there on the day, was to be checked at a later date.
A licensing officer from the council also carried out checks of other licensed premises to see whether duty had been paid on stock.
He found cans of beer with Polish writing on it sitting on the shelves of the Post Office, but rather than handing out a fine, gave them a warning and advised them to take it off the shelves.
Officers also carried out checks of a woman of who smelled strongly of cannabis as she walked down Westow Hill, but they let her go after a brief search.
Sergeant Diane Hill, of the Crystal Palace Triangle SNT, said this approach is a vital part of policing these matters.
She said: "We have always got that discretion. We can't arrest everyone all the time for minor offences."
Although today the area is well-staffed by police, this type of joint operation and pooling of resources is becoming more common in the Metropolitan Police. Operations like Bigwing have targeted certain types of crime on certain days because of the resourcing.
Sgt Hill admits this has been a problem. She said: "We are very under-resourced in Croydon, it's such a large borough that we are very busy. But on a positive note, we are recruiting a lot of officers and we will see a big increase in the next six months or so."
She added: "This type of operation works well because obviously Crystal Palace is an area which covers a number of boroughs. So it makes sense to pool the resources."
The Afghanistani man was bailed to return to a police station next week and also on the conditions he reports weekly regarding his immigration status.
