Three arrested in raids on suspected gang that 'helps migrants pretend to be gay for asylum'

Three people have been arrested in raids targeting a suspected crime gang accused of helping migrants pretend to be gay to claim asylum. The network has allegedly been charging migrants up to £4,500 for fabricated evidence, including forged documents and staged photos in gay clubs and bars. They are believed to have supported dozens of bogus asylum claims from Bangladeshi men claiming to be at risk of persecution if they returned home. Two people were arrested in London yesterday on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences, while a third was arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally.Immigration Enforcement officers also seized jewellery, phones and thousands of pounds of cash. Chris Foster, a regional criminal investigations lead for the Home Office, said the arrests were over fake claims connected to Apanjon, a Bangladeshi community LGBT organisation based in Whitechapel, east London. He said: 'We've got some intelligence that they can provide fake letters and documents, and they could charge anywhere between £1,000 and £4,500.'It could be letters of support from Apanjon, it could be staged photographs, suggesting that these people are gay, it could be letters from people claiming to be in a friendship or a sexual relationship - [a] same-sex relationship - as the claimants.' Two people were arrested in London yesterday on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences, while a third was arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally Photos show dozens of men from the group wearing matching pink t-shirts at London's annual pride parade and during monthly meet-upsMore than 100 asylum applications linked to the network are now being reviewed, some of which would have 'undoubtedly' been granted, Mr Foster said. They are said to include letters confirming attendance at LGBT events and staged photos, many taken in the same gay nightlife venues. Photos show dozens of men from the group wearing matching pink t-shirts at London's annual pride parade and during monthly meet-ups. The number of asylum seekers claiming they need protection on the basis of sexual orientation has rocketed in recent years to hit 2,133 in 2023. Pakistanis accounted for the most claims – 578 – followed by 175 from Bangladeshis and 103 from Nigerians. Homosexuality is illegal in all three countries.Overall asylum claims topped 100,000 in 2025, of which 35 per cent were made by people whose student, work or tourist visas had expired. Last year, an investigation exposed a shadowy network of asylum experts charging up to £7,000 to coach migrants whose visas are running out how to pose as gay.Undercover BBC News reporters posed as students facing visa expiry and approached several legal advisers.The Home Office has said it is continuing to review asylum claims linked to that investigation, which led to two arrests in May. At Law & Justice Solicitors in east London, paralegal Mazedul Hasan Shakil passed a reporter's details to Tanisa Khan, an adviser to Worcester LGBT – which describes itself as a support group for gay and lesbian asylum seekers.Ms Khan was secretly filmed telling the journalist he needed to 'claim to be an LGBT person'. When he said 'but I'm not,' she replied by saying, 'that's it, you're not.' She offered a £2,500 package including club photos, tickets, letters claiming sexual relationships and an endorsement from Worcester LGBT. Apanjon is a Bangladeshi community LGBT organisation based in Whitechapel, east London A page on the organisation's website, which describes its main as as campaigning for 'equality and justice' for LGBT people in Bangladesh The adviser boasted of her success rate and suggested the 'client's' imaginary wife could also apply for asylum by claiming to be a lesbian. At a Worcester LGBT event in Beckton, east London, attended by more than 175 men from across the UK, several people openly admitted to undercover reporters that virtually none were gay. One said: 'Nobody is a gay here. Not even 0.01% are gay.' The group's website claims it supports only genuine LGBT asylum seekers and is formally recognised by the Home Office. At Connaught Law in London, senior adviser Aqeel Abbasi quoted £7,000 for the service and assured the reporter the risk of refusal was 'very low'. He told the reporter to have his photo taken in gay clubs and find someone to pose as a fake male partner. Ana Gonzalez, an immigration lawyer with 30 years' experience, said the likes of Ms Khan were 'clearly breaking the law'. 'People like that [are] just really making things harder for the legitimate asylum seekers and refugees out there,' she said.'Particularly for something that is as intangible as being LGBTI, really, because when you are a victim of torture, when certain things happen to you, often there is a way of evidencing that, in an objective way.' After being confronted by a reporter, Ms Khan blamed communication difficulties for a 'misunderstanding' and said she doesn't speak Urdu fluently. She denied telling the reporter to make a false claim or offering to create fabricated evidence. Earlier this year, immigration adviser Tanisa Khan was filled telling an undercover reporter how to pretend to be gay to claim asylum Ms Khan is an adviser to Worcester LGBT - which describes itself as a support group for gay and lesbian asylum seekersLaw & Justice Solicitors said Ms Khan had no professional connection to the firm and that it was investigating 'any potential unauthorised access' to its London office.Earlier this year the Daily Mail revealed how one Cameroonian man who was granted asylum in Britain after claiming to be gay was later revealed to have a secret wife and child. Marius Kamna, 35, travelled to Britain on a temporary visa for the 2021 UN climate summit in Glasgow before claiming asylum in the UK based on his sexuality. The asylum panel that granted him refugee status was never informed about his heterosexual marriage in Cameroon. However, Mr Kamna insisted it was his marriage that represented the deception, not his claim to be gay. 'I had so many secrets, I was persecuted,' he said.Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said that asylum applicants 'faking persecution are beneath contempt and mock real victims who need protection'.'To the gangs profiting from this disgraceful fraud: you will be prosecuted, stripped of your dirty money and shut down,' she said.'And to those cheating the system, your claim will be thrown out, and you will be removed from this country.'A conviction for asylum fraud carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.