FOUR illegal workers have been arrested following UK Border Agency raids in Worthing and Chichester.
Acting on intelligence, officers visited the Chilcha Indian Restaurant, in Montague Street, Worthing, and the China Royal Restaurant, in Market Road, Chichester, on Friday (October 12).
They questioned staff to check if they had the right to work in the UK.
At Chilcha, which was visited at 5.30pm, they arrested two Bangladeshi men, aged 34 and 40, who were working in breach of their visa conditions.
Two Chinese women, aged 21 and 24, who had stayed in the country after their visas expired, were arrested at China Royal, which was visited at 7.30pm.
A 23-year-old Chinese man also working in the restaurant was found to be a failed asylum seeker and has been placed on immigration bail while his case is investigated.
The four arrested are in immigration detention while steps are taken to remove them from the country.
Both employers will be fined up to £10,000 per illegal worker unless they can prove the correct right-to-work checks were carried out.
Timothy Reichardt, from the UK Border Agency, said: “We regularly carry out operations like this in Sussex and, where we find people who are in the UK illegally, we will seek to remove them.
“Illegal working has a serious impact on communities, undermining legitimate businesses and taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.
“More visits like this are being planned for Sussex and whilst we’re happy to work with businesses to let them know what checks need to be done on staff, those who do break the law should know that we are out there looking for them and they will face heavy fines.”
Employers unsure of the steps they need to take to avoid employing illegal workers can visit ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk or call the UK Border Agency’s helpline on 0300 123 4699.
Anyone who suspects illegal workers are being employed at a business can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.
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