More than a dozen arrests have been made in a suspected £1.1m organised fraud scam operating in Redbridge. 

Thirteen people were arrested on Tuesday (May 19) as part of Rebridge council's biggest ever investigation into organised benefit fraud. 

As many as 139 Italian nationals living in the borough could be declaring false employment details in order to claim housing benefit, the council's investigation team has said.   

European Economic Area (EEA) nationals must be in genuine work to claim housing benefit but the council has learnt that the employers listed may be false or trading illegally.

Benefit assessment officers noticed an increase in claims from Italians who were all earning a similar amount of £156 per week. 

No further details about the location or the age of those arrested has been released at this time. 

The council has said it will vigorously pursue the recovery of an estimated £1, 124,000 in overpaid benefits and expects thousands of pounds to be save each week as a result of the arrests.

Cabinet member for finance and resources, councillor Kam Rai, said: "We have absolutely zero tolerance for anyone who commits fraud, and have been actively working to root it out and take action against the perpetrators.

"This fraud was detected late last year and since then our own Benefit Fraud Team has been painstakingly investigating to collect the evidence and this success is a direct result of their very hard work. 

"When people commit fraud against the council, they steal from you, your friends, family and the community.

"Fraud takes money away from vital services and impacts on us all. That’s why we need residents to continue to help us and anonymously report fraud."

As part of the invesigation, Essex Police notified the councill about a large number of Italian citizens arriving at Stansted Airport with appointment letters for National Insurance number interviews.

Following the interviews they returned to Italy on the same day.

This information was passed on to the DWP by Essex Police. The DWP identified that several hundred National Insurance numbers had been applied for from one particular address in East London.