SEVEN illegal workers have been detained following a raid at an Indian restaurant in Winterbourne.

In an intelligence led operation, Immigration Enforcement officers visited the Royal Raj, on Winterbourne High Street, at around 6pm on Thursday, August 3.

Seven Bangladeshi men, aged between 30 and 61, were arrested for breaching immigration rules.

The Royal Raj now faces a potential £140,000 fine for having immigration offenders working on its premises.

The onus is now on the business to prove that appropriate right-to-work document checks were carried out, such as seeing a passport or Home Office document confirming permission to work. 

Adam Duffin, of the South West Immigration Enforcement team, said: "We are happy to work with businesses to explain the simple pre-employment checks needed to establish a person’s right to work in the UK, but to those who choose to ignore the rules the message is clear - we will find you and you will face a heavy financial penalty.

“Illegal working is not victimless, it undercuts honest employers, cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities and defrauds the public purse.

“I urge anyone with specific and detailed information about suspected immigration abuse to get in touch.”

Six of the men have been detained while steps are taken to remove them from the country. One, aged 31, who had his leave to remain in the country curtailed, has been released while his case is progressed. He will have to report to Immigration Enforcement on a regular basis.

Immigration checks found that three of the workers, aged 30, 38 and 61, had overstayed their visitor visas. The checks also revealed that a 30-year-old man had overstayed his student visa; a 31-year-old had overstayed when his leave to remain in the country had been curtailed; a 48-year-old had overstayed a domestic worker visa, and a 55-year-old worker had entered the country illegally.

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

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

It includes a quick answer right-to-work tool to help employers check if someone has the right to work in the UK.