An immigration officer demanded a bribe to let an illegal African go, a court has heard.

Undercover cops watched Babs Folobi Carew accepting a £500 down payment from Ghanaian student Maxwell-Kwaku Maundy - prosecutors claimed.

Seized his passport

The official nabbed Maundy in immigration swoop on the underground, seized his passport and booked him a flight back to Africa.

Maundy went straight to the cops after he received a phone call from the accused offering to return his passport and let him "vanish" if he paid £1,500, the jury heard.

The 25-year-old was wired up with a tape recorder and followed in the police sting. Officers swooped and Carew claimed he was acting "out of compassion." He denies corruption.

The trial continues.