Sixteen members of staff at the Asda supermarket in Wheatley have been suspended after an investigation into illegal immigrant workers.
The staff were suspended by the London Road store after a visit by officials from the UK Border Agency earlier this month.
The suspensions were announced today, the day after an early hours raid by immigration officials at Smiths News on the Horspath Industrial Estate in Cowley, Oxford.
A 40-year-old Brazilian man and a 35-year-old man from Pakistan arrested at Smiths on immigration and document irregularities were being deported last night.
An Asda spokesman said: "Asda Wheatley had a scheduled meeting with immigration officials, who were doing regular checks on our procedures for non-British workers, last week. "Immigration officers were happy with Asda's procedures. "However, following the meeting, a decision was taken to suspend 16 colleagues while their documentation is verified. Nobody was taken forcibly from, or arrested at, the store."
The staff were suspended following a meeting with immigration officers on September 8.
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