3 taken away in takeaway swoop; Immigrants arrested for working illegally.

Byline: ADAM JUPP

THREE immigrants suspected of working illegally were found at a Chinese takeaway.

Officers from the UK Border Agency busted the Golden Flower outlet, in Shotley Bridge, County Durham, after receiving tip-offs the failed asylum seekers were employed there.

The three were held at the takeaway in Snow Green Road in the early-evening raid.

Three Chinese men, two in their late teens and one in his late thirties, were held on suspicion of working illegally.

Background checks revealed they were all failed asylum seekers who had not complied with orders to leave the UK and were not reporting to UKBA as they had been instructed to.

Steps will now be taken to send them back to the Far East, while owners of the Golden Flower have been served with Notices of Potential Liability.

It means they could face fines of up to pounds 30,000 if it is ruled they did not do enough to check the identities of the three males before employing them.

Steve Lamb, regional operations director of the UK Border Agency in North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "As this successful operation shows, we will act on intelligence to target those businesses that ignore the rules and remove those with no right to be in the UK.

"There are simple ways of checking a foreign national's right to work and there is no excuse for not checking the identity of those applying for jobs.

"We support and encourage employers to comply with the rules but when they fail to do so it is right that we crack down on them."

UKBA officers had gathered intelligence about the Golden Flower, which led to the operation being planned. It is part of a nationwide crackdown on bogus workers.

Wearing stab vests and supported by police, they surrounded the premises, before entering and speaking to all people found inside to check their immigration status.

The three failed asylum seekers were understood to be working in the kitchen. They had previously had conditions imposed on them, requiring regular reporting to UKBA offices while they made arrangements to leave the UK.

NOPLs attract up to pounds 10,000 fines per illegal worker. The employer now has 28 days to provide UKBA with evidence that the correct right-to-work checks were carried out.

The enforcement operation is one of an average of 70 that take place across Yorkshire and the North East each month to tackle illegal working in the region.

Anyone who suspects that bogus staff are being employed at a business can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.