Three 'illegal immigrants' found working at Willenhall chippie
Three suspected illegal immigrants from India have been discovered working at a Willenhall chip shop which could now be fined up to £60,000.
Home Office watchdogs carried out an enforcement operation at Cods Plaice in the Woodland Centre where they found three men who had overstayed their visas.
They arrested a 25-year-old overstaying his student visa as well as a 35-year-old and a 36-year-old who had both overstayed their visit visas.
The first man was detained pending removal from the UK, and the other two were ordered to report regularly to the Home Office while their cases are progressed.
The business was served a notice warning that a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker found will be imposed unless they can demonstrate that appropriate 'right to work' checks were carried out, such as seeing a passport or Home Office document confirming permission to work.
This means the chip shop could be fined a total of up to £60,000, according to the Home Office.
Immigration officer Serena Kaur, from West Midlands Immigration Enforcement, has warned that businesses not carrying out the correct checks should 'expect to face financial penalties.
She said: "It is vitally important that employers carry out simple 'right to work' checks on potential staff and keep records of these.
"Our well-resourced teams carry out regular illegal working operations, and businesses that have not carried out the correct checks should expect to face financial penalties.
"Using illegal labour cheats the taxpayer, undercuts genuine employers and denies legitimate job hunters work.
"I would urge anyone with detailed and specific intelligence about suspected immigration offences or illegal working to get in touch."
The chip shop was open as usual yesterday.
The co-owner of Cods Plaice, who would only give his name as Mr Singh, said he was 'shocked' by the discovery, and added that the case was now in the hands of his solicitor.
He said: "We are still waiting on the clearer picture of the investigation. We are waiting on the paperwork from the Home Office which I hope we will get in due course. They have given us nothing as of yet. I'm quite shocked by this and it is in my solicitor's hands now."
On the popular website JustEat, Cods Plaice has a rating of five stars out of 6 after 325 reviews. As well as being a fish and chip shop, JustEat also says the chippy serves pizza and offers home delivery.
Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can report it at: www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
