Two Fife restaurants have been caught employing illegal workers.
Officers from the UK Border Agency swooped on Hasan’s Indian Takeaway on Peploe Drive, Glenrothes, and the Prince Indian Restaurant on High Street, Kirkcaldy, at about 6pm on Thursday.
After the immigration status of staff was checked, two Pakistani men were found to be working illegally at Hasan’s, having over-stayed their visas.
At the Prince, checks on workers showed that another two Pakistani men had over-stayed their visas, while an Indian man was also in the UK illegally.
All five men are currently in detention, pending their removal from the UK.
Both businesses were served with a civil penalty notice for employing the illegal workers.
If the employers are unable to provide evidence that legally required checks were carried out before giving the workers a job, such as asking for a passport or a Home Office document, a fine of up to £10,000 per illegal worker will be imposed.
Adam Scarcliffe, assistant director of the UK Border Agency in Scotland, said: ”Foreign nationals who are in this country illegally should be in no doubt that they will be found, arrested and removed from the UK.
”Employing illegal workers undercuts honest businesses and defrauds the public purse. There is no excuse for using illegal labour, and if businesses ignore our immigration laws they face heavy fines.”
Every year, the UK Border Agency imposes civil penalties on thousands of companies which have failed to carry out legally-required checks on their staff.
In May, it was revealed that three illegal workers had been working at Buffet King in Dunfermline.
UK Border Agency officers raided the Carnegie Drive premises on a Friday lunchtime. After checks were made, it was found that three Chinese people two men and a woman were working illegally at the restaurant. Buffet King was served with a civil penalty notice.
Photo by Steve Parsons/PA Wire