Restaurant faces fine after UKBA raid (From Kingston Guardian)

South End restaurant faces fine after UKBA raid

8:26am Monday 11th June 2012 in Freetime By Andrew Bloss

A Croydon restaurant could face a £30,000 fine after they were raided by Border Agency officers.

Officers visited Mirch Masala, South End, on Thursday May 31 to check staff had the right to work in the UK.

They arresred three young men, aged 19, 22 and 28. The 22-year-old tried to escape but was stopped by officers.

The restaurant was given a warning that it could face a maximum £10,000 fine for each illegal worker arrested unless it can prove that the correct checks were made.

There were two other raids in Croydon which resulted in nine people being arrested.

On Wendesday June 6 officers visited two addresses on Broad Green, Croydon, at 6.50am and 7.20am.

At the first address they arrested a 21-year-old Pakistani man who had lied to stay in the country.

At the second location on Broad Green they arrested eight Indian men aged between 23 and 46 who had all overtayed their visas.

Eleven of the immigrant are in detention while UK Border Agency takes steps to remove them from the country. A 26-year-old Indian man has been granted bail.

Paul Tucker, head of the UK Border Agency's Croydon Local Immigration Team, said: "Illegal working has a serious impact on communities, undermining legitimate businesses and taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.

"We are happy to work with businesses to let them know what checks need to be done on staff, but those who do break the law should know that we are out there looking for them and they will face heavy fines."