Indian restaurant faces SECOND large fine in six months for employing illegal workers

Home Office Immigration Enforcement officers acted on intelligence by swooping on the Yuva restaurant in Debden high street shortly before 6pm yesterday (September 5).

Staff checks revealed the immigration offender, a Bangladeshi man, had entered the UK illegally. He was taken into detention pending his removal from the country.

It is the second time this year offenders have been arrested following a previous visit to Yuva.

Four Bangladeshi nationals, including a chef, were arrested in the April 10 operation. Two have subsequently been returned to Bangladesh, one remains detained and one has been released on immigration bail while work to repatriate them continues.

The business was stung with a £15,000 fine in relation to the first visit.

Yuva could be fined up to £10,000 for the latest arrest. To avoid a penalty the employer will need to demonstrate that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out such as seeing a passport or Home Office document.

Laura Hoare, from Home Office Immigration Enforcement, said: “We do not expect businesses to be experts at spotting forged documents, that’s our job, and employers who take on immigration offenders through no fault of their own will not face any financial sanction.

“However, companies who either knowingly take on illegal workers or ignore their legal obligations to carry out pre-employment checks should expect to face fines. Their behaviour helps encourage illegal immigration.

“We are working hard to track down and remove from the country those who seek to abuse the immigration laws.

“The public can be a huge help and I urge people with information about suspected immigration abuse to get in touch.”

Net migration has fallen by more than a third since 2010 and is now at its lowest level for a decade.

Anyone with information about immigration crime can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or visit crimestoppers-uk.org