Both had entered the UK on student visas before claiming asylum
A Home Office raid led to the arrest of two DPD drivers for suspected illegal working. DPD could now face a £90,000 fine.
The incident happened at its Lincoln depot.
The two men, both Indian nationals, were found working as delivery drivers despite being asylum seekers without permission to work in the UK.
A third Indian national was also found to have overstayed their visa during the operation, which was carried out by the Home Office alongside Lincolnshire Police on November 9.
The raid followed intelligence reports alleging that some employees at the DPD facility were working illegally, with additional concerns that drivers were operating vehicles without valid UK driving licences.
Officers stopped more than 30 DPD drivers as they left the depot in their vans to begin their delivery shifts.
Two Indian men wearing DPD uniforms and driving DPD-branded vehicles were apprehended. Both had entered the UK on student visas before claiming asylum and were arrested and subsequently bailed pending further investigation.
The operation comes amid increased scrutiny of illegal working in the parcel delivery sector, following a meeting in October between Home Office officials and delivery companies.
The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation with businesses to ensure they were taking appropriate steps to prevent people without permission to work from being employed.
Chief immigration officer Stacey Donnelly, who was present during the raid, said her team was seeing an increase in immigration offences within parcel delivery companies.
She added: “We know the abuse is there. Our work is to tackle that and also then tackle the employers as well.”
Under UK immigration rules, most asylum seekers are not permitted to work while their claims are being considered.
This differs from several other European countries, where asylum seekers can generally access employment immediately or within six months of submitting an application.
Employers found to be employing people without the right to work face civil penalties of up to £45,000 per worker for a first breach, rising to £60,000 for repeat breaches.
DPD could therefore face a potential fine of up to £90,000 if it is found to have employed both drivers illegally.
A Home Office spokesperson told MotorTransport: “Illegal working undermines honest employers, undercuts local wages, and fuels organised immigration crime.
“We will not stand for it. In the two years since the general election, we have increased Immigration Enforcement action to the highest level in British history.
“This has delivered a 122% rise in illegal working arrests and a 111% rise in raids.”
The delivery sector is also facing wider changes to employer liability under recent amendments to the Right to Work scheme, which came into effect last month.
The scale of enforcement activity has also increased.
According to a recent Home Office report, 7,270 illegal working visits took place between January 1 and June 30, 2026, resulting in 4,756 arrests. This represented a 31% increase in visits and a 20% rise in arrests compared with the same period in 2025.
The report added: “Over this period, more than 1,200 businesses found to be employing people illegally have been issued with a Civil Penalty, which means they face significant fines of over £74m.”
Responding to the Lincoln raid, DPD said: “Right to Work checks are in place across DPD for both our colleagues and our delivery partners and we remain fully committed to working with the Home Office to tackle illegal working in our sector.”
