Cumbrian restaurants raided in immigration swoop

SIX immigration offenders have been caught working illegally at businesses in Cumbria by the UK Border Agency.

The agency said that a series of raids took place last week as part of a national campaign to tackle immigration crime.

A Malaysian man and woman were arrested at the Jade Apple restairant on Bridge Street in Appleby, a Chinese man and woman were arrested at Regent Court restaurant in Workington and two Bangladeshi men were arreested at Indian Spice restaurant in Whitehaven.

All three businesses will be issued with a civil penalty notice for employing illegal workers. If the employers are unable to prove they conducted the right pre-employment checks on staff, they could face fines of up to £10,000 per worker.

Immigration minister Damian Green said: “Operations like these conducted in Cumbria are being carried out across the country following the success of a major crackdown on immigration crime during the summer, which generated a large number of arrests, cash seizures and prosecutions as well as fresh intelligence.

“The UK Border Agency is stepping up its efforts to further disrupt the activities of people involved in facilitating immigration crime, including white collar professionals who seek to abuse immigration law.”