Latest news and updates
Three caught in Haverhill illegal working operation
01 July 2009
Three Bangladeshi men have been caught by UK Border Agency officers cracking down on illegal working in Haverhill.
Acting on intelligence, a team from Felixstowe enforcement office visited the New Maharajah restaurant in the High Street at just after 1800 on 24 June.
They found two 32-year-old Bangladeshi men who did not have permission to work in the United Kingdom - one employed as a chef and another as a waiter - along with a 52-year-old Bangladeshi man who is believed to have been working as a kitchen hand although he claimed he was just visiting friends at the restaurant.
The chef and the waiter were both identified as illegal entrants, while the 52-year-old had overstayed his visa.
The UK Border Agency is now taking steps to remove the offenders from the United Kingdom as soon as possible.
The business was issued with an on-the-spot penalty notice for employing illegal workers and faces a fine of up to £30,000 if it cannot be proven that the correct right-to-work checks (such as asking for a passport or work permit) were carried out before the men were given jobs.
We are working hard to pull the plug on the illegal jobs which lure illegal immigrants to come to the UK in the first placeGill Adams
Gail Adams, UK Border Agency regional director, said:
'We are working hard to pull the plug on the illegal jobs which lure illegal immigrants to come to the UK in the first place.
'Illegal working is unfair on honest employers who recruit staff with the right to work in the UK and who pay them a proper salary.
'Employers who don't play by the rules will get struck off our register, lose the right to recruit staff from outside Europe, face on the spot fines and could potentially end up in jail.'
A tough new civil penalty system was brought in last year to provide a fast and effective way of tackling bosses who fail to carry out proper checks on workers from outside Europe. A fine of up to £10,000 per worker can be imposed for every illegal worker found at a business.
Guidance for employers on preventing illegal working can be found on the UK Border Agency website, or by calling the UK Border Agency Employers Helpline on 0845 010 6677.
Anyone who suspects that illegal workers are being employed in Suffolk should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be assured.