Home office immigration enforcement officers detain suspected illegal immigrants at a Chinese fast food restaurant on Belmore Street, Enniskillen
AN ENNISKILLEN business is facing a £40,000 financial penalty after a government enforcement team entered the premises and found an illegal immigrant and a failed asylum seeker who escaped Home Office bail.
Acting on intelligence, officers from the Home Office Immigration Enforcement team, visited the Hong Kong Chinese takeaway on Belmore Street in the town, last Thursday (November 27) at 6pm and questioned staff to check if they had the right to be and work in the UK.
Officers arrested two Chinese men for immigration offences, a 29-year-old who had entered the country illegally and a 40-year-old failed asylum seeker who had absconded from Home Office bail.
Both are now in Home Office detention pending removal from the country.
The takeaway was served with a notice warning that a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker found will be imposed unless proof is provided that the correct right-to-work checks were carried out. This is a potential total of £40,000.
Deputy Director Mike Golden, from the Home Office’s Northern Ireland Immigration Enforcement Team, said: “These arrests are a clear warning to those in Northern Ireland abusing our immigration laws. There will be no slowdown in our efforts to arrest, detain and remove you from the UK.
“Employers who use illegal labour are defrauding the taxpayer, undercutting genuine employers and denying legitimate job hunters work.
“Information from the public can be a huge help in our work and I would urge members of the public with information about suspected immigration abuse to get in touch.”
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