Illegal immigrants have been found in dramatic raids on Deganwy restaurant

Jun 10 2010 by David Powell, North Wales Weekly News

SEVEN illegal immigrants have been found in dramatic raids on four restaurants

TWO illegal immigrants have been found in a dramatic raid on a Deganwy restaurant.

The UK Border Agency officials swooped on Nikki Ip’s on Station Road. The suspects face deportation while the restaurant boss face fines of up to £10,000 for each illegally employed worker.

An Agency spokesman said staff raided Nikki Ip’s on June 3 at 7pm. He said: “Acting on intelligence, officers from the UK Border Agency found two Chinese chefs to be in the UK illegally. They were arrested.

“One man was found to have entered the UK illegally. He remains in detention pending an outstanding immigration claim and will be removed from the UK if he is found to have no right to remain.

“The second man is in custody charged under the ID Cards Act with possessing a counterfeit Home Office document.”

The Agency’s North Wales team found five more immigration offenders after simultaneously targeting three restaurants in Tywyn, Dolgellau and Penrhyndeudraeth on May 27.

All the people arrested in the raids were taken to St Asaph police station.

The four businesses raided across the region are all being served with civil penalty notices for employing illegal workers.

If the employers are unable to provide evidence that legally-required checks were carried out before giving the workers jobs – such as asking for a passport or a Home Office document – a fine of up to £10,000 will be imposed for each illegal worker.

Jane Farleigh, of the UK Border Agency in Wales, said: “If people want to work in the UK, there are ways they can come here legitimately.

“If they decide to ignore immigration laws, we will find them and look to remove them from the country.

“Anyone in North Wales who employs a foreign national without permission to work is breaking the law and undermining law-abiding businesses.ŠEmployers have a legal responsibility to carry out the right checks.”

Advice about how to employ migrant workers legally is available at ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers. Anyone who has information on immigration offenders in Wales can contact the UK Border Agency on 029 2092 4727.