A HAMPSHIRE illegal immigrant has been jailed after admitting an immigration scam.

Vineeth Nair Sudarsanan Shoba, 29, of Jewry Street, Winchester, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after previously pleading guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration at Croydon Crown Court.

The Indian national was part of a gang of three who conspired to supply false passports to non-European Economic Area immigrants to help them live and work in the UK and evade immigration laws.

Mirza Maqsood Hussain, a 43-year-old Pakistani man, of Aerodrome Road, Hendon, was jailed for five years while Jins Cherian, a 31-year-old Indian man, of Sumner Road, Croydon, was jailed for three years.

All three were in the UK illegally and the Home Office has confirmed it will take steps to deport them once their sentences are served.

Kristie Roberts from Home Office Criminal & Financial Investigation, said: “These sentences should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of getting involved in similar criminal activity that the Home Office is cracking down on all forms of immigration crime. Those who seek to cheat immigration laws face prosecution and conviction.”