A couple who ran an immigration consultancy business in Southall and were jailed for masterminding a massive immigration scam were ordered to hand over £598,000 of their ill-gotten gains.

After a four-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court, Solicitor Jatinder Sharma and Rakhi Shahi, both from Southall, were sentenced to seven and eight years in prison respectively in June 2009.

The couple who ran a company called Univisas which specialised in providing counterfeit documents, qualifications and certificates to support immigration applications were arrested in May 2008.

Raids in Southall at their home and Univisas offices uncovered thousands of counterfeit documents, stamps used in their production, passports, and thousands of pounds in cash.

After their trial, officers tracked down more money and property belonging to the group in India.

At a hearing at Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday 8 June, Rakhi Shahi had £107,000 confiscated from her bank accounts.

Jatinder Sharma had £74,000 confiscated from his bank accounts. The judge also told him to hand over another £417,000 in hidden assets. If he fails to do so, he faces another four years on his sentence.

Detective Inspector Robert Coxhead from the UK Border Agency's immigration crime team said:

"It's clear that these people ran a sophisticated and lucrative international criminal enterprise."

"My officers have shown that we will leave no stone unturned in stopping criminals from profiting from their crimes."

The third member of the gang, Neelam Sharma, who was jailed for four years, was ordered to hand over £188,000 in cash from her bank accounts at an earlier hearing.

A total of £369,000 has been confiscated and another £417,000 ordered to be handed over.

All three face deportation at the end of their sentences.