Five men have been arrested after immigration officers carried out an operation at a Maldon restaurant.

Immigration Enforcement officers acting on intelligence visited Curry Nights in High Street, at 6pm on Saturday.

Five Bangladeshi men were arrested after checks showed that four, aged 25, 34, 37 and 61, had overstayed their visas and one, aged 37, had entered the UK illegally.

Four of the men were detained pending their removal from the UK. The 37-year-old who had overstayed his visa was ordered to report regularly to the Home Office while his case is dealt with.

Curry Nights restaurant was served a referral notice warning that a financial penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker found will be imposed unless the employer can demonstrate that appropriate right-to-work document checks were carried out, such as seeing a passport or Home Office document confirming permission to work.

This is a potential total of up to £100,000.

Immigration Enforcement’s Mark Gear, the officer in charge of the operation said: “As this operation demonstrates, we are working hard to arrest and remove those who abuse the UK’s immigration system.

“The arrests at this business meant it closed that evening due to lack of staff. Employers who wish to avoid disruption and potentially a large fine should make sure they carry out the required checks on their staff.

“All of our operations are intelligence led and I would encourage people with detailed and specific information about illegal immigration to contact us.”

Curry Nights declined to comment. 

Information to help employers carry out checks to prevent illegal working can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/employers-illegal-working-penalties.

This includes a new quick answer right-to-work tool to help employers check if someone has the right to work in the UK.

People with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.