A group of employees from Bangladesh has been discovered working illegally without the correct UK work permits.
The three men were found by UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers, who conducted a raid on the Balti Hut in Gloucester earlier this month (October 20th).
Checks were conducted on the immigration statuses of the staff during the raid, and it was revealed that two of the men had entered the country illegally and a third had outstayed his UK visa and remained in the country illegally.
Two of the group have been transferred to an immigration detention centre pending their removal from Britain, the third was placed on immigration bail and is reporting to a local police station while awaiting deportation.
Meanwhile, the Balti Hut is facing some problems of its own, with a possible £30,000 fine in the pipeline. This charge could be imposed if the restaurant is unable to prove that the correct immigration checks were carried out on the group's visas and UK work permits prior to their initial employment.
Kenny Chapman, head of the south west local immigration team at the UKBA, commented on the situation: “I hope operations like this send out a message to employers who would consider breaking the rules.
"We're happy to work with firms to help them understand what checks they need to do on staff, but those who break the law can be hit with heavy fines.”