St Albans Indian restaurant fined £30,000 for employing illegal immigrants

A popular Indian restaurant has been fined £30,000 following an immigration scandal.

Devdas, in St Peter’s Street, St Albans, has appealed against the fine which was handed out after the restaurant employed three illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The three men, who were aged 19, 30, and 56, are currently on immigration bail after being found illegally working at the restaurant in September.

The raid was carried out by immigration officers and the men were arrested after checks found them to be without the necessary working visas.

When the officers arrived at the restaurant the 30-year-old man attempted to escape but was stopped by someone covering the rear of the building.

The restaurant faced a financial penalty of up to £60,000- £20,000 for each of the men - but was fined just half of the maximum amount.

It is currently appealing the fine through the county court.

Lorna Brown, from Home Office Immigration Enforcement, said: “Operations like these are carried out across the UK every day as our work to arrest, detail and remove immigration offenders from the UK continues.

“Employers who use illegal labour are cheating the taxpayer, undercutting genuine employers and denying legitimate job hunters work. Those who wilfully flout the rules will face heavy financial penalties.

“I would urge anyone with detailed and specific information about suspected immigration abuse to get in touch.”

Nobody from Devdas was prepared to comment on the situation.