Four held in Weymouth blitz on illegal immigrants

The raids came as part of a blitz by the UK Border Agency which is attempting to stamp out illegal working in Dorset.

Simultaneous raids were carried out at the Ming Wah takeaway in St Thomas Street and the Jasmine Takeaway in Dorchester Road, Lodmoor Hill, at 6.50pm on Wednesday, after the agency was tipped off about illegal workers.

Whilst raiding the Ming Wah, one woman attempted to flee from the back of the restaurant but was caught by immigration workers.

After her immigration status was checked, she was found to be a 29-year-old from Malaysia who had entered the UK illegally.

It is the second time in the last four months that the Ming Wah has been raided – with a 25-year-old Chinese man being arrested in October.

During the raid at the Jasmine Chinese takeaway a 30-year-old was found to have overstayed his visa, while a 36-year-old had entered the UK illegally.

The next target was the Weymouth Tandoori at 8.35pm, on Maiden Street, where customers watched in shock as the UK Border Agency officers raided the premises. Officers found a 41-year-old Bangladeshi male waiter who had entered the UK illegally.

After being arrested, all four offenders remained in custody at Weymouth Police Station yesterday whilst the UK Border Agency took steps to remove the immigrants from the UK.

Kenny Chapman, who heads the UK Border Agency’s local immigration team for the South West, said: “We carry out operations like this week in, week out, targeting rogue employers and immigration offenders.

“We are sending a simple, clear message to people flouting the law – more raids are planned and you will be caught.

“It is the legal responsibility of all employers to check that employees have the right to work in the UK and we are happy to provide help for people who want to play by the rules.”

All three restaurants are being issued with £10,000 penalty notices for every illegal employee.

The three businesses were unavailable for comment.