I'm sorry officer, I didn't know it was illegal to duct-tape the eyes of an employee and strike him with a meat hook

Reports are coming out that anywhere from 300 to 700 have been arrested at a raid of the Agriprocessors Inc., in Iowa, which is the US's largest kosher meatpacking plant.

A helicopter hovered over the scene in Postville, Iowa as the large meat packing plant, Agriprocessors, Inc, and hundreds of agents raided the plant, which is known as the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse and is northeast Iowa’s largest employer.

According to the U.S Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) website, 300 people have been arrested so far after ICE agents executed a criminal search warrant earlier today at Agriprocessors, Inc., in Postville, Iowa.

The warrant was for evidence "relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, as well as a civil search warrant for people illegally in the United States."

USA Today is reporting that officials told aides to Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, that they expect 600 to 700 arrests out of about 1,000 to 1,050 people that work at the plant.

The DeMoines Register report that according to the affidavit, “Based on information thus far developed in the investigation, it appears, based on 2007 fourth quarter payroll reports, that approximately 76 percent of the 968 employees of Agriprocessors were using false or fraudulent social security numbers in connection with their employment.”

According to search warrants, ICE agents interviewed a former plant supervisor – identified as “Source 1” – in November 2007, who told them that the plant employed foreign nationals from Mexico, Guatemala and Eastern Europe. Roughly 80 percent of those workers were living illegally in the U.S., the supervisor said.

“Source 1” told federal agents that some employees were running a methamphetamine lab in the plant, and were bringing weapons to work. The supervisor confronted a higher-level manager about the drugs, and shortly after was fired.

The supervisors also described an encounter with the plant’s human resources manager about three separate Social Security cards from different employees with the same number. The human resources manager "laughed when this matter was brought to her attention," the supervisor told federal agents.

The article quotes different sources such as "Source 7" and "Source 11", which were all contained in the warrant which allowed for this massive raid.

Not only were the illegal activities happening on the part of the illegal aliens, but there were also reports of abuses to the workers, such as a description from "Source 7", which has worked with immigration officials on other cases, where this source told authorities that a floor supervisor duct-taped the eyes of an illegal Guatemalan employee and struck him with a meat hook.

That's not very kosher is it?