Three workers in Aylesbury have been arrested after investigations conducted by immigration officers in the region found problems with their UK visas.
Officers received intelligence regarding the Chicken Cottage on Cambridge Street and the JFC Fast Food on Kingsbury Square in Aylesbury earlier this month. After questioning employees, they found three men who did not have the right to be working in this country.
At the first premises they found a 26-year-old Pakistani man who was arrested for having overstayed his UK visa. Two more Pakistani men, aged 50 and 46, were arrested at JFC also for having overstayed their visas.
The younger man has been given immigration bail and is required to report regularly to the authorities while his case his dealt with. Meanwhile, the other two have been arrested and transferred to immigration detention where they will be held until they can be removed from the country.
A member of the Thames Valley and Surrey immigration enforcement team, Paul Smith, commented: "These arrests will act as a stark warning to anyone in Aylesbury who is in the UK illegally. We will catch up with you and you will face arrest, detention and removal from the country.
"Illegal working has a negative impact on communities. It defrauds the taxpayer, undercuts honest employers and cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities."
While illegal employment is problematic for workers, businesses also face serious fines if they employ someone who is not legally allowed to work in Britain. The businesses involved in this case have been served with civil penalties and notices that – unless they can prove that right-to-work checks were carried out before hiring the men – they will be charged with fines of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker.