London, November 15 (ANI): Using James Bond-style spy gear to help Chinese immigrants cheat on British citizenship tests has landed two men in jail.
The duo used hi-tech hidden cameras, transmitters and surveillance gadgets to tell right answers to the candidates sitting the Life in the UK test, which is the last step towards earning British citizenship and passport.
Those taking the test in Wimbledon library, south west London, were equipped with a hidden shirt buttonhole camera, microphone, and earpiece.
The two fraudsters sat outside in a BMW car with high-tech equipment and a laptop, and they directed the candidates to tick the right answers via a secret link.
Police initially thought that the persons in the car were running a cashpoint fraud, skimming the cards of unsuspecting users.
However, upon investigation they found that the two men were helping Chinese nationals cheat on the multiple choice immigration tests in the nearby building.
When we first arrived at the scene it was very confusing as to what exactly was going on, the Telegraph quoted Sergeant Dominic Washington, of Merton Borough police, as saying.
However, working with colleagues from across the borough and the Met we believe that we have uncovered an established criminal enterprise that may be in operation in other parts of the country.
We will now be educating colleagues about this type of crime, and hopefully its raised profile and extra vigilance from police will deter others from getting involved, he added.
While the two fraudsters were jailed for eight months at Kingston Crown court after being found guilty of facilitating a breach of immigration law earlier this week, the two Chinese men who took the test were sentenced to 180 hours community work for deception. (ANI)