VIDEO: Immigration officer jailed for bribery (From News Shopper)

E-editions

Read our printed newspapers online click here »

Your Shopper

Send your news, photos & videos. Text NEWS SHOPPER and your message to 80360 or click here to email us » »

News RSS Feed

VIDEO: Immigration officer jailed for bribery

2:52pm Friday 26th September 2008

comment Comments (20) Have your say »

By Court Reporter »

Play Video

A CORRUPT immigration officer from Belvedere who tried to sell a seized passport has been jailed.

Folobi Babs Oluwaseum Carew of Parsonage Manorway, was given a three-year sentence at Blackfriars Crown Court today and will serve a minimum of 18 months.

The 41-year-old, known as Babs Carew, was found guilty of bribery on Tuesday (September 23) following a covert operation by the Met.

The investigation into Carew by anti-corruption officers began when they arrested a man who had out-stayed his UK entry visa.

The man told them Carew had offered to return his passport to him for £1,000 after it had been seized by the Immigration and Nationality Department.

Using the passport holder as a sting, officers set up a surveillance operation at Blackheath station on October 11 last year and recorded Carew taking £500 from the man.

Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Nick Joyce said: "Babs Carew actively sought the bribe by approaching the passport holder and offering to return the seized passport to him for a fee.

"I am pleased that, with the support of the Immigration Service, this investigation has stopped the activities of a corrupt official who sought to make money by abusing his position."

Print article » Email to a friend »

Your Say YourShopper

gone4good, surrey says...
8:24pm Fri 26 Sep 08

What kind of checks do we do on these people. Fraud and Deception is a way of life for them. How do we allow these people to work in such position of trust. In Banks ,Housing offices,Customs,Traf
fic wardens. Company APCOA Re Lambeth should be fined £500.000 pounds for employing 50 illegal migrants. I bet they hardly pay a penny. And make a mockery of the advert about employing illegal migrants to tell you your illegally parked.As per BBC news This country is a JOKE.

Report this post »

Harry, Gravesend says...
1:41am Sat 27 Sep 08

I wonder if Folobi Babs Oluwaseum Carew is not an illigal himself. The Gov let anyone in to do jobs nowadays. I'm sure it's to keep wages down!

Report this post »

South East, South East says...
5:33pm Sat 27 Sep 08

There needs to a full investigation of in the Home Office and HM Revenue & Customs.How many more are taking bribes in this way? This is a very serious matter has immigration is extremley high in London and surrounding areas. We do not have the public funds or resources to keep all this people. we are at
crisis point as a country financially and our welfare, benefit services and the NHS/Hospital services are over stretched and at breaking point. This Officer is a disgrace to the Civil Service.

Report this post »

dee, london says...
11:54pm Sat 27 Sep 08

I am so afraid for my grand childrens future
our country is being taken over and why do they get these jobs because if they don't they will be racist ??

Report this post »

Nicky Charles, South East says...
7:57am Sun 28 Sep 08

Harry wrote:
I wonder if Folobi Babs Oluwaseum Carew is not an illigal himself. The Gov let anyone in to do jobs nowadays. I\'m sure it\'s to keep wages down!

Actually Harry - all of us who ever worked alongside this officer thought the same thing. Now he's gaol and can't hide behind lame employer sensibilites we will be looking to find out.

Report this post »

Bumpy, says...
8:34am Sun 28 Sep 08

I always thought he was at best incompetent at worst corrupt, turns out it was the worst case scenario. Babs is a victim of his own greed and arrogance and a result of weak management and inferior security clearance checks

Report this post »

Anonymous, London says...
10:38am Mon 29 Sep 08

I always find it insulting when, returning from holiday, I go through passport control and have my passport scritinised by someone like this. I call it inverted racism. It's time we took a stand.

Report this post »

rob, london says...
1:41pm Mon 29 Sep 08

its too late now weve lost our country/ we havent even got freedom of speech no more coz as soon as you say anything about colour or religeon its classed as racist even this paper is the same the amount of blogs ive put on here 95 per cent have been deleted / so if we have lost freedom of speech what chance have we got

Report this post »

babatunde tikare, portsmouth says...
1:50pm Mon 29 Sep 08

Its quite unfortunate for babs carew.that does not rule the fact that there are still immigrants who are working in respected position and who uphold integrity in all spheres.

Report this post »

George Bass, london says...
6:57pm Mon 29 Sep 08

I think Babs Carew's race or colour is completely irrelevant. What is relevant is that he's as bent as a crowbar, full stop. There are bad apples in every bunch, so let's all try to stay objective, without getting racially emotive. Our prisons are full of white and black crooks.

Report this post »

Olu Shorunke, London says...
11:37pm Mon 29 Sep 08

We neglect to tackle the root cause of the problem and we blame race for every crime committed by a black person in UK, all black people are not criminals. The MET has done a good job of removing a corrupt official from further abuse of privilege. What needed to be focused on is how to prevent this type of abuse from happening again instead making racially biased comments.

Report this post »

R.S. Olowe, Essex says...
10:34am Tue 30 Sep 08

Corruption or crime is not synonymous to any race or culture. For the fact that one person from a particular culture or creed err does not mean everyone from that culture would follow suit. "TO ERR IS HUMAN (Asian, black, White)".

Report this post »

rob, london says...
10:57am Tue 30 Sep 08

see what i mean ? i made no comment about HIS colour or religeon / but you do gooders want to have a go about it / its people like you that have let this country get in the state its in / was i rascist?no but you all want a pop when we have a black priminister i think you will all be happy a

Report this post »

Zordana, Bucks says...
3:49pm Tue 30 Sep 08

None of the these immigrants should be in any of our sensitive areas, it's disgraceful.
Time after time we find they are some of the biggest criminals, are no checks done? You should have a minimum of ten years or more in this country before you are even considered for a job such as this. It makes a farce of everything.

Our postman this week is diabolical, i wonder how long he as actually been in the country. Our mail is all over the place and i am about to make an official complaint about the people the Mail employs. We are wondering if he can actually read English as it's encreasingly obvious something is wrong. I do not want my sensitve mail handled by in this way. You aren't allowed to get a job in the US Mail if you are an immigranat as my brother in law found it when he emigrated, although he had an exemplary record, it's just how they do things and we should do the same. Why do we allow it?

Report this post »

George Bass, London says...
6:47pm Tue 30 Sep 08

With reference to Zordana's comment above. How does he know that Babs Carew is an immigrant? It appears that he cannot or will not understand that several members of the ethnic minority community were born in Britain and possess the same rights/privileges as he does. Listen matie, you've got some catching up to do and shedding away the weight of your stereotypical misperceptions will help. Society has moved on, don't be stuck in the past . A criminal should not be defined by his race or extraction (as you are trying to do) but by his actions and mentality for which Babs Carew is deservedly being punished for.

Report this post »

londoner, london says...
6:49pm Tue 30 Sep 08

mr carew was born in the uk, and is a british citizen; not an immigrant. he does not have any past criminal record.the fact that he lacks intergrity is more down to a personal level. i think pyscological tests need to be done to assess people on a more personal level in order to weed out people with criminal tendencies.immigrati
on jobs/police jobs are generally only open only to uk citizens. be informed!

Report this post »

gone4good, surrey says...
12:08pm Wed 1 Oct 08

When I live in the thamesmead belt. My post was often stolen items of value or never arrived. I also got other peoples post. Delivered wrongly through my door including bank statements etc. I made many complaints to the Royal Mail to be given a book of stamps as an apology. I contacted them by phone after complaing to an independent body. Who told me the problem was due to having a large number of temporary staff in the Thamesmead office. Remember if a full time Postal Worker is caught obstructing/stealing the mail the sentences are quite strict. This does not apply to temporary staff. With ID fraud on the increase I find this outrages. Since I have moved to a much better area I suffer none of these things.

Report this post »

tim spinks, Newport says...
4:56pm Thu 2 Oct 08

gone4good wrote:
When I live in the thamesmead belt. My post was often stolen items of value or never arrived. I also got other peoples post. Delivered wrongly through my door including bank statements etc. I made many complaints to the Royal Mail to be given a book of stamps as an apology. I contacted them by phone after complaing to an independent body. Who told me the problem was due to having a large number of temporary staff in the Thamesmead office. Remember if a full time Postal Worker is caught obstructing/stealing the mail the sentences are quite strict. This does not apply to temporary staff. With ID fraud on the increase I find this outrages. Since I have moved to a much better area I suffer none of these things.

What has gone4good's unfortunate experience with his post in thamesmead got to do with the main story line? Except of course the salient insinuation that foreign postmen are bent. You may not notice any foreigner postman if you moved to my neck of the woods in Newport Wales but the post can be extremely horrendous. At times it just boils down to incompetence or ill-education.

Report this post »

Adetoun, Brent, London says...
10:59pm Sat 4 Oct 08

Who are the small minded racist making comments that has nothing to do with arresting a corrupt officer? If the owners of the country where not in jail, signing on for beenefits or in other peoples country then this man would not be in this job....so why not apply for his post so we see all the corrupt workers....he got caught, that's the difference....He became an underdog.

Report this post »

Adeola Adenekan, london says...
1:03am Thu 16 Oct 08

Being a coloured person does not make you a illigal immigrant, criminal or corrput person. So for those of you that thinks all coloured person are corrupt, criminal or illigal immigrant you need to think again and you need to get out of your unrenew mindset. By the way mr harry, you said you have lost your country, for your information, this country is not for anybody

Report this post »

Your sayYourShopper

comment Add your comment

Register for a FREE News Shopper account and you can have your say on today's news and sport by adding comments on articles we publish. The best comments may even get published in the paper.

Please register now or sign in below to continue.