Underage illegal worker in social care following Plymouth restaurant raids

Two city restaurants have been raided by immigration officials in Plymouth leading to one young Chinese boy being placed in custody of social workers. The UK Border Agency raided the two businesses in England’s south-west where they found the eateries to be employing illegal workers.

On the 17th of September, agency officials raided the Han Dynasty restaurant in Plymouth’s Southside Street where they found a 34-year-old kitchen worker from China employed despite  the expiry of his work permit. He is currently being held in detention by immigration officials after initially being taken to a London police station following his arrest. Han Dynasty was given an immediate penalty notice for its role in hiring the illegal worker.

A second raid was undertaken by The UK Border Agency at the New Jade Garden Chinese restaurant in Plymouth’s Ebrington Street where a further two illegal Chinese workers were discovered in the kitchen. The first man was a 35-year-old Chinese national who had already failed in his application for asylum. The man  was subsequently arrested by agency officials and has been detained by immigration pending his deportation. The second Chinese national was discovered to be a young boy under the age of 16, whose case has been handed over to social services where he remains in their care.

New Jade Garden was handed a penalty notice and may face fines of up to £20,000 for their role in recruiting the illegal workers. In both cases, the businesses are required to show authorities that they carried out the mandatory checks to determine if the migrants were allowed to work in the UK.