Foreign
UK care firm charged workers from Africa thousands more than cost of visa
Care workers from Zimbabwe were told to pay the sums to Gloriavd Health Care Ltd in return for arranging social care jobs in and around Leeds and Bath.
They also claimed they were given far less paid work than they had been led to expect, were housed in overcrowded rooms and faced a threat that their conduct could be reported to the Home Office, leading them to fear deportation if they complained.
One woman alleged she sold her home in rural South Africa to pay £6,500 in fees to the company operated by Gloria Van Dunem only to find she and her colleagues had so little work they had to rely on food banks.
“She took all that I had,” said Winnet Mushaninga, 40, a qualified care worker from Zimbabwe who has been living near Durban. “The trauma and suffering was too much. We paid a lot of money. It’s just painful.”
The allegations come after the Home Office added care workers to the UK’s shortage occupation list in 2022 to help fill 165,000 vacancies in care homes and domiciliary care. There has been rising concern about the exploitation of the immigration route by some social care and employment agencies.
Mushaninga told the Guardian she was recruited directly from Africa by Gloriavd and understood the fee would cover the cost of the visa and the certificate of sponsorship as well as two months’ accommodation and access to a full-time job. The Guardian has seen evidence of bank transfers on her behalf to the company’s bank account totalling £5,500.
But on arrival in Britain last April, Mushaninga alleged she had to live squeezed four to a room with mattresses on the floor, earned just £20 a day, and ended up feeding herself from a church food bank.
The Home Office charges no more than £551 for a visa for care workers and the cost of a sponsor licence for a small company to bring in foreign care workers is £536.
Gloriavd Health Care Ltd was set up by Gloria Van Dunem in 2020 and is registered with the Care Quality Commission, which rates it as “requires improvement”. The NHS Integrated Care Board in Leeds said it has awarded the firm two consecutive contracts making it an approved provider to deliver care in people’s homes.
Mushaninga is among several care workers in Yorkshire being supported by the Leeds branch of Acorn, a community union that is running a Carers Fight Back campaign “not only to win back justice, compensation and job security for our members that have worked for Gloriavd, but for every worker across the UK that is experiencing this injustice,” said Rohan Prasad-Weitz, branch secretary.
Van Dunem’s lawyer told the Guardian “she did not accept money from care workers in exchange for facilitating their relocation to the UK”.
“No money was taken by our client for the immigration skill charge and for assigning certificates of sponsorship from the employees,” the lawyer said, adding they had seen evidence that the matters put to their client were “wholly inaccurate” and lacked “any basis in truth”.
In correspondence seen by the Guardian, Van Dunem apparently told another worker she needed to pay £2,900 and she required no less than half of that “before we would be able to issue the sponsorship visa, the official job offer and all other supporting documentation”.
An offer of employment letter from Van Dunem, also seen by the Guardian, said “you will be working 39.0 a week and salary will be £20,480 gross per annum … Accommodation and maintenance will be provided”.
Mushaninga alleged that on arrival, she found she was only allocated two hours of paid work a day over four 30-minute visits spread out from 7am to 8.30pm – no more than £100 a week.
She claims that she and her fellow care workers would wait for hours for their next appointments in parks and bus stations.
On occasion they got soaked in the rain. They didn’t have a car so travelled by bus between appointments. “We ended up going to food banks”.
Shelly Roe, the granddaughter of another client, told the Guardian “there were quite a few red flags” about the care workers the agency sent out to her grandfather’s home in a Leeds suburb.
“They were walking,” she recalled. “They said they had driving licences but they didn’t drive. They were catching buses. But they were polite, well-trusted and very good.”
Mushaninga said she challenged Van Dunem about the quality of the accommodation saying it was not appropriate for adult living. But “she would say: ‘I will just call the Home Office and they will deport you back home.’ She knew I had nowhere to stay back home, so she knew I would keep quiet.”
A WhatsApp message to workers from Van Dunem’s number seen by the Guardian stated: “As per Monday, Gloriavd will be starting reporting to the home office every activity for all workers. I will [be] reporting shift cancel, working for another company …holidays, absence, not attending training, company trying to reach out for work not responding, refusing to assign documents such as tenancy agreements”.
The range of issues appears to extend beyond what the Home Office tells visa sponsors they need to report. Guidance lists reporting duties including when a worker is absent without permission for more than 10 consecutive working days or is absent without pay or on reduced pay for more than four weeks in a year. It says the Home Office does not need to know if a sponsored worker temporarily leaves the UK, for example, on holiday.
Van Dunem’s lawyer said: “Our client being a sponsor licensee has record-keeping and reporting duties,” and “matters such as working for another company, holidays, absences, and unauthorised absences are within the purview of reporting duties under certain circumstances.”
“In some instances, employers may report their sponsored migrant’s circumstances to the Home Office as part of best practice,” the lawyer said and that “should not be construed as a threat of deportation”.
Another Zimbabwean, Benedict Musavengan, 36, told the Guardian he came to work for Gloriavd in January 2023 after paying £1,700 in fees. He said he was assigned only a few hours and was accommodated four to a room in a flat above a takeaway in Beeston, which didn’t have heating.
He was not able to provide documentary evidence for his claims, but said: “It was so, so cold. There was no cooking stove. There was no washing machine. There was no work for us.”
“The way she treated me hurt me a lot,” he said. “It put me in a bad place. My family was expecting me to send something to them. I have a wife and kids … My hope was to work for five years, create something back home so I could sustain myself and my family.”
Investigators have recovered the flight recorders from an Amazon cargo plane that crashed while attempting to land at Miami International Airport, as authorities continue efforts to recover victims and determine what caused the deadly incident.
Five people were killed and five others seriously injured when the Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air, overran the runway shortly before 2pm local time on Sunday.
The aircraft, which had two crew members aboard, was arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on its third flight of the day when it crashed.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the plane struck airport navigational equipment before breaking through a perimeter fence and hitting two vehicles—a white Ford cleaning van carrying seven people and a Toyota Corolla with three occupants.
The aircraft eventually came to rest about 1,300 feet (394 metres) beyond the runway.
NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said investigators were still in the fact-finding stage and warned against drawing conclusions about the cause of the crash.
She described the scene as “devastating” and said the immediate priority was recovering the victims.
“The investigation and access to the aircraft, as well as evidence, can wait,” Homendy said.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered and will be transported to NTSB headquarters for detailed analysis.
Investigators are expected to examine the aircraft’s flight history, the crew’s experience and training, radar information, aircraft performance, mechanical systems and engines.
A meteorologist will also assess weather conditions at the time of the crash.
Earlier analysis by BBC Verify indicated that an active thunderstorm was near the airport shortly before the incident, with winds reportedly gusting to about 26 knots (48km/h).
The NTSB will also investigate whether the runway should have been equipped with an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS), which is designed to help stop aircraft that overrun runways.
Homendy described the issue as a key part of the investigation.
The NTSB has appealed to members of the public who may have photographs or videos of the crash to submit them to investigators.
The agency said it would issue safety recommendations at the conclusion of the investigation, with Homendy stressing the need to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Meanwhile, two of Miami International Airport’s four runways remained closed following the crash, with passengers warned to expect further disruption.
The incident occurred during the US Labor Day holiday weekend, one of the country’s busiest travel periods, resulting in flight cancellations and disruption to aircraft and crew movements.
Amazon expressed grief over the loss of lives and said it was working closely with authorities.
21 Air, the company operating the aircraft, also expressed condolences to the victims and their families and said it was cooperating fully with the investigation.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
A 68-year-old British woman, Dawn Ottewell, has claimed that her 31-year-old Nigerian husband, Bright Emokpae, disappeared from their home months after moving to the United Kingdom on a spouse visa.
Ottewell, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, told The Sun UK that she met Emokpae, an Edo State native, on dating platforms Tinder and Plenty of Fish in 2021 while she was experiencing loneliness and depression.
According to her account, Emokpae initially introduced himself as “Brian Thomas” before later revealing that he was a fashion student from Benin City.
The relationship reportedly developed through regular video calls, after which Ottewell travelled to northern Cyprus, where Emokpae was studying on a student visa.
The couple married at a registry office in Nicosia on March 22, 2022, with two Turkish friends acting as their best man and maid of honour.
Following the wedding, Emokpae returned to Nigeria to process his UK spouse visa. About a year later, after the visa was granted, Ottewell travelled to Heathrow Airport to welcome him to Britain.
However, Ottewell said their relationship deteriorated after his arrival in the UK.
She alleged that Emokpae became increasingly distant, regularly asked her for money and refused to contribute to household expenses, while allegedly sending money to Nigeria.
Her 72-year-old brother, Rory, reportedly helped Emokpae secure a job with a local door manufacturing company.
The couple separated briefly in October 2023 but later reconciled, about six months after the separation. Ottewell said the reconciliation occurred after she received a £63,000 settlement following what she described as a botched NHS prolapse operation.
She now says she regrets taking him back.
Ottewell recalled that shortly before Christmas 2024, she went on a £2,000 Caribbean cruise with her brother. When she returned home, she allegedly discovered that Emokpae had left.
She said he has not returned since and has blocked her on social media, leaving her unable to contact him.
Ottewell believes her estranged husband may now be living in Scotland, where she suspects he runs an online clothing business.
“He’s done a runner and is refusing to sign the divorce papers because I believe he wants to cling on to his spouse visa,” she said.
The woman also expressed concern about what could happen to her estate if she dies before their marriage is legally dissolved.
“My biggest fear is that I’ll die before this is sorted out and he’ll run off with the money my three children should inherit,” she said.
Ottewell said she does not currently have a will and fears Emokpae could potentially make claims against some of her assets, including jewellery, cash and furniture.
She is now seeking assistance from Citizens Advice to help locate her estranged husband and serve him with divorce papers.
“I feel I’m being used,” Ottewell said.
She also advised people to exercise caution when entering relationships that involve international partners, saying she believed her husband had married her primarily to obtain a UK visa.
However, her claims about Emokpae’s motives have not been independently established.
A UK-based Nigerian taxi driver, Kolawole Erunkulu, 45, has been sentenced to six years in prison after falling asleep at the wheel and fatally hitting a 59-year-old man.
Erunkulu, from Bexleyheath, was driving an Audi on August 17, 2025, when he suffered a “microsleep”, causing the vehicle to leave the road and collide with Philip Dray, who had stopped in a lay-by.
Dray was getting into his Volkswagen after taking a break from driving when he was struck.
According to reports, Erunkulu had worked for about 12 hours on the day of the crash, taking only short breaks. In the three days before the fatal collision, he had driven for 53 hours, with his longest rest period being seven hours.
Footage from inside his vehicle showed Erunkulu falling asleep briefly before the Audi swerved off the road and hit Dray. The vehicle continued moving for about 10 seconds after the collision.
A microsleep is a brief episode of sleep that can last only a few seconds, during which the brain fails to properly process information.
Erunkulu pleaded guilty in June 2026 to causing death by dangerous driving.
He was sentenced to six years in prison and disqualified from driving for eight years. He will also be required to pass an extended driving test if he seeks to regain his licence.
Sentencing him, Her Honour Judge Lees said the footage demonstrated that Erunkulu was extremely tired and should have known that he was not fit to drive.
“The footage shows the defendant was extremely tired and, in my view, has continued to drive when he must have known that. He was driving commercially,” the judge said.
She added that the incident could have been prevented if Erunkulu had stopped driving and slept.
Acting Detective Inspector Rob Baldwin of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said the case highlighted the potentially devastating consequences of driving while fatigued.
He said Erunkulu had worked long hours with insufficient rest, resulting in a “sleep debt”.
“Fatigue can seriously impair a driver’s ability to remain alert and react safely, particularly during the early hours of the morning when the natural drive to sleep is at its strongest,” Baldwin said.
He urged motorists who feel tired not to continue driving.
Dray’s family described him as “an amazing partner and man” who was dependable, caring and respectful.
His sister said Philip was a quiet man who cared deeply about others and had spent his life as a careful and conscientious driver.
“The fact that he, someone who worked every day to keep others safe, had his life taken in such a way makes this loss even more incomprehensible and tragic,” she said.
Dray’s partner described him as “a sweet, gentle, and caring man” and her “soulmate”.
She said his death had left an “enormous emotional and physical void” in her life.
“He would ring me several times a day whenever he was waiting for a client or at lunch, just to see how my day was going. I miss those calls very much,” she said.
Foreign
UK: 11 Drug Couriers Convicted Over £13.8m Cannabis Smuggling Plot Through Birmingham Airport
Eleven drug couriers have been convicted for their roles in a plot to smuggle cannabis worth an estimated £13.8 million into the United Kingdom through Birmingham Airport.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) investigated the group after Border Force officers arrested them in August 2024 and seized 460kg of cannabis concealed in 22 suitcases.
According to an NCA statement published on Wednesday, the couriers had travelled to the UK from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on the same flights.
The convicted couriers were identified as Carsten Kyei, 21, from Newham, East London; Bradley Lloyd, 27, and Claire McCullough, 36, both from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester; Lewis Ross, 35, from Bolton, Lancashire; Nathan Vitorino, 26, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire; Ryan Boachie, 32, from Edmonton, North London; Gideon Oluwasetemi Olumoyegun, 26, from Dagenham; Tasia Nelson, 22, from Newquay, Cornwall; Jaden Ramen, 23, from Colliers Wood, South London; Paige Crisp, 24, from Broomhall, Worcester; and Jamal Clarke, 22, from Walthamstow, London.
Birmingham Crown Court heard that each courier had two suitcases, with each suitcase containing about 20kg of cannabis.
The suitcases were reportedly so heavy that the couriers had to pay excess baggage charges at Bangkok Airport to have them placed in the aircraft hold.
The cannabis had been vacuum-packed and concealed beneath a thin layer of clothing. Eight of the suitcases also contained Apple AirTag trackers, which NCA investigators established were connected to the same Apple ID account.
Suspicion was raised after Border Force established that four passengers had travelled from Birmingham to Charles de Gaulle Airport earlier on August 9, 2024, each carrying two large suitcases.
Border Force officers subsequently fully staffed the Nothing to Declare channel and intercepted the group.
One of the couriers had also been instructed by an associate: “my man gonna be on the other side – don’t leave the airport until you see him leave.”
Kyei and Vitorino were convicted on May 26, 2026, following a three-week trial, while Ross and Lloyd changed their pleas to guilty during the trial.
Crisp, Nelson and Ramen were convicted on Wednesday, August 19, following a four-week trial.
McCullough, Boachie, Olumoyegun and Clarke had previously pleaded guilty.
Those convicted on August 19 will be sentenced on October 22, while the others will be sentenced on September 3.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Paul Boniface said the operation involved extensive planning.
“A huge amount of planning went into this sophisticated attempt to bring hundreds of kilos of cannabis into the UK,” Boniface said.
He said the coordination of flights and luggage demonstrated “the lengths criminals will go to in order to hide their offending.”
“With thanks to Border Force, we were able confiscate these drugs and stop criminals from benefitting financially from the damage they cause,” he added.
Boniface warned people against agreeing to smuggle drugs into the UK, saying anyone who attempted to do so would face justice.
Adam Chatfield, Head of Border Force Midlands Command, said the convictions should serve as a warning to anyone considering transporting cannabis into the UK.
He said the young people involved now faced serious consequences, including criminal records that could affect their employment opportunities and future prospects.
Victoria Norman of the Crown Prosecution Service said prosecutors and investigators had pieced together evidence of a coordinated attempt to smuggle large quantities of drugs into the country.
She said the evidence resulted in six members of the group pleading guilty, while the others were convicted following trial.
An Australia-based Nigerian, Foluso Omole, is facing trial over his alleged role in a $5m fraud involving the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Omole was arrested by operatives of the Australian Federal Police at Adelaide Airport last Friday while allegedly attempting to flee Australia.
According to the report, Omole had allegedly “cut ties” in Adelaide and was preparing to travel to Nigeria before his arrest, a court heard.
The 38-year-old appeared before the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, where his bail application was refused following allegations that he had attempted to leave Australia for Nigeria.
The court heard that Omole, a dual Australian and Nigerian citizen, had “purchased a one-way ticket to Nigeria” before his arrest.
A prosecutor also told the court that Omole appeared to have “sent, over the course of his offending, significant funds back to Nigeria”, where his wife resides.
The report stated that Omole was working as an NDIS coordinator and operating two businesses that employed several staff at the time of the alleged offences.
The prosecutor reportedly told the court that Omole allegedly received information “improperly” from a woman employed by the National Disability Insurance Agency over a period of six years and “used that information to obtain benefit fraudulently”.
The woman, who has also been charged in connection with the alleged fraud, was expected to appear in court on Thursday.
However, disputing the allegation that Omole intended to flee Australia, his lawyer, Mark Twiggs, told the court that his client had informed him that he planned to travel to London on a “return ticket” purchased before any raid on the woman’s home.
“The charges are denied. He has no record at all.
“My client has good reason why he should be given bail,” Twiggs said.
Omole is yet to enter pleas to one count of dealing with proceeds of an indictable crime worth more than $1m and one count of dealing with money or property valued at more than $1m that is allegedly the proceeds of crime.
Magistrate Patrick Hill, however, refused bail, citing concerns that Omole posed a flight risk.
“Whether it was a one-way ticket to Nigeria or a return ticket to London does make a difference as to the court’s assessment of whether or not Mr Omole is a flight risk.
“For the other reasons put forward by the prosecution, in any event, I remain concerned that he is a risk of flight and the bail application is refused,” Hill said.
In April, a Nigerian couple, Luciana and Femi Akanbi, were jailed in the United Kingdom for their involvement in a similar fraud scheme.
The couple reportedly used personal data belonging to Transport for London employees to carry out a tax rebate fraud scheme that cost the public purse more than £433,000.
The fraud, which was carried out between September 2021 and January 2022, was reportedly based on sensitive information belonging to at least 40 TfL workers, including passport details, National Insurance numbers and bank records. The information was used to submit 139 fraudulent tax refund claims.
Court proceedings at Woolwich Crown Court revealed that Luciana Akanbi, 38, who worked in TfL’s human resources department, had access to the personal records of about 107 employees, which were later exploited for the scheme.
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