A SUSPECTED illegal worker bolted from immigration officers who swooped on a busy Indian take-away in Cumbernauld on a bustling Friday night.

The Home Office received intelligence which forced them to carry out a raid on the Kashmir Cottage on South Muirhead Road in the North Lanarkshire Town.

The raid happened at around 6.10pn during one of the take-aways busiest periods and one of the illegal workers attempted to bolt from the scene.

Checks carried out by Immigration Enforcement officers revealed two men to be working and they were arrested.

A 33-year-old Pakistani national had allegedly overstayed his student visa, while it is claimed an Indian national, aged 37, had entered the UK illegally.

An amount of cash suspected to be the proceeds of illegal working was seized and an application will now be made to the courts to request forfeiture of the money. If successful, the funds will be transferred to the public purse.

The business was served a notice warning that a financial penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker arrested will be imposed unless they can demonstrate that appropriate right to work document checks were carried out, such as seeing a passport or Home Office document confirming permission to work. If proof is not provided, this is a potential total of up to £40,000.

Ian Tyldesley, Assistant Director for Immigration Enforcement in Scotland, said: “When we approached the takeaway the Pakistani man attempted to run away but was caught by my officers.

“We are happy to work with businesses to explain the simple pre-employment checks needed to establish a person’s right to work in the UK, but to those who choose to ignore the rules the message is clear - we will find you and you will face a heavy financial penalty.

“Illegal working is not victimless, it undercuts honest employers, cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities and defrauds the public purse.”

Information to help employers carry out checks to prevent illegal working can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employers-illegal-working-penalties. It includes a new quick answer right-to-work tool to help employers check if someone has the right to work in the UK.

People with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact https://www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Immigration Enforcement is an operational directorate within the Home Office responsible for enforcing immigration law.

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