Three men have been arrested in East Ham after they were found to be in the country illegally.

They were among 10 people arrested as part of a Home Office investigation into suspected abuse of student visa.

A warrant was carried out at the Wakefield Street property at 6.30am this morning.

Checks on the men found that they were in the UK illegally.

A 35-year-old man from Viscount Drive, Beckton, was arrested during the same operation on suspicion of conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law and money laundering.

Two men and a woman from Manchester, a man from Doncaster, a man from Harrow and a woman from Hayes were all arrested on the same charges.

A significant amount of cash was also seized.

The investigation centres on a suspected fraud to bring non-EU nationals into the UK with student visas using bogus colleges.

Dave Magrath, from Home Office immigration enforcement criminal investigations, said: “We are determined to crack down on all forms of immigration crime.

“These arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into the suspected abuse of the student visa system.

“Our investigations will continue with the evidence we have seized.”

Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.