UK immigration authorities have targeted a Campbeltown restaurant for employing illegal workers.
The Bangladesh Tandoori on Bolgam Street was visited by UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers earlier this week (Tuesday, March 5th) after receiving intelligence regarding the employees at the business.
Officers carried out immigration checks on the staff and found that eight men from Bangladesh were working at the restaurant illegally. As a result, the Bangladesh Tandoori is to be issued with a civil penalty notice.
But if the business cannot prove that the correct right-to-work checks were carried out before taking on the employees then it could also be hit with a fine of up to £10,000 per worker, leaving it at risk of a total fine of £80,000. These pre-employment checks can be as simple as requesting a passport of a Home Office document that proves that an individual has the right to undertake paid employment in Britain.
Meanwhile, seven of the workers have been taken into an immigration detention centre ahead of their deportation from the country, while one man has been issued with bail on the condition that he reports to the police regularly while the outstanding case is concluded.
Adam Scarcliffe, assistant director of the UKBA in Scotland, commented: "The message for anyone living and working in Scotland illegally is clear - we will track you down and remove you from the country.
"We're happy to work with businesses to let them know what checks need to be made on staff, but those who break the law should know that they will face heavy fines."
The arrests come just a week after five people were arrested in Aberdeen for working in two shops in the region without the required UK work permits or visas. The workers, all Pakistani men, were employed in the American Candy Co and the Discount Store. They are being held in detention centres while preparations are taken to remove them from the country and investigations into the shops are conducted.