UK Immigration - Fourteen arrests in London's Chinatown following immigration raids

Fourteen arrests were made following an operation to crack down on illegal working in the heart of London's Chinatown on Wednesday 27 June.

Acting on intelligence, officers targeted New World Restaurant, Gerrard Place at around 16:30. Immigration checks were carried out on individuals to see if they were entitled to live and work in the UK.

Fourteen Chinese nationals including 6 men, aged between 20 and 44, and 8 women, aged between 23 and 44, were arrested. They were all detained for a variety of immigration offences, including overstaying their visas and leave to entering the UK without leave to do so.

Three of the men and 1 woman remain in immigration detention awaiting removal from the country whilst the others have been released on immigration bail.

Steve Fisher, from the UK Border Agency, said:

'We carry out hundreds of operations like this every year across London, and where we find people who are in the UK illegally we will seek to remove them.

'Illegal working has a serious impact on communities, undermining legitimate businesses and taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.

'We're happy to work with businesses to let them know what checks need to be done on staff, but those who do break the law should know that we are out there looking for them and they will face heavy fines.'

Eleven of the people working for New World had no right to work in the UK and a civil penalty notice has been served for employing suspected illegal workers. If the employers are unable to provide evidence that legally required checks were carried out before giving the workers a job a fine of up to £10,000 per illegal worker will be imposed.

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