Two illegal workers arrested during immigration operation at Telford Subway
Two people have been arrested during an immigration operation at a fast food restaurant in Telford.
Immigration enforcement officers visited Subway, in Wrekin Retail Park, today, at about 11.40am.
Following checks, officers arrested two Indian men aged 24 and 28 for immigration offences as both had overstayed their visa.
The men have been detained pending removal from the UK.
The business has been 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. If proof is not provided, this is a potential total of up to £40,000.
Assistant director Carol Scarr, head of the West Midlands Immigration Enforcement team, said: “The operations my teams carry out are vital in tackling those employers who choose to flout the immigration rules and fail to carry out the required checks on staff.
“Illegal working cheats the taxpayer, negatively affects the wages of lawful workers and allows rogue employers to undercut legitimate businesses.
“All of our operations are intelligence led and I would encourage people with detailed and specific information about illegal immigration to contact us.”
Information to help employers carry out checks to prevent illegal working can be found at 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 gov.uk/report-immigration-crime or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
