Raid on Kidderminster takeaway sees four arrested

Immigration enforcement officers swooped on Golden Wok, in Mill Street, at around 6.30pm on Wednesday, January 11, acting on intelligence gathered.

Staff at the takeaway were questioned to check whether they had the right to live and work in the UK.

Four Malaysian nationals were arrested when they were found to have overstayed their visas. Three people - two men aged 21 and 40 and a woman aged 36) - were detained pending removal from the UK.

A third man, aged 53, was ordered to report regularly to Immigration Enforcement while his case is progressed.

Golden Wok was served with a notice warning that a financial penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker employed will be imposed unless they can demonstrate that appropriate right to work checks were carried out, such as seeing a passport or Home Office document confirming permission to work.

This means the takeaway is facing a potential total of £80,000.

Carol Scarr, of the West Midlands Immigration Enforcement team, said: “Our teams of officers carry out regular visits to businesses in Worcestershire.

“Our message to employers is that they should not risk employing people with no right to work in the UK – doing so leaves them open to a visit from our officers and a heavy fine.

“Using illegal labour is not victimless. It cheats the taxpayer, undercuts honest businesses and cheats legitimate job seekers of employment opportunities. It also exploits some of society’s most vulnerable people.

“All of our operations are intelligence led and I would encourage people with detailed and specific information about illegal immigration to contact us.”

Information and advice to help employers carry out checks to prevent illegal working can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employers-illegal-working-penalties

People with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact https://www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.