IMMIGRATION officers raided three takeaways - one for the second time in just three months - and arrested four people found to be working illegally.

A string of Home Office raids were carried out on Friday and Saturday after immigration officers received tip-offs.

The Dragon in Dalton's Market Street was the first to be raided and led to two Chinese men, aged 40 and 44, being arrested after it was found they had entered the UK illegally.

The Panda Garden in Duke Street, Barrow, was next and immigration officers found a 20-year-old Chinese woman who was working illegally in breach of her visa.

Finally, a raid at the Taste of India restaurant and takeaway in Askam resulted in the arrest of a 60-year-old man from Bangladesh who had entered the UK illegally.

All four illegal immigrants have been taken to detention centres while arrangements are made to remove them from the UK.

The three businesses were all given a referral notice which means if they are unable to prove they took reasonable steps to determine the individuals' right to work in the UK they face a £20,000 fine for each illegal immigrant.


A Home Office spokesman added: "Immigration Enforcement uses the full force of the law to tackle illegal migration including targeted enforcement operations across the UK."

Saturday's raid at the Taste of India is the second for the Askam restaurant in three months.

Back in July, synchronised raids were carried out there and at the Naaz in Ulverston which the Home Office said were "linked by ownership".

Those raids led to four Bangladeshi men being arrested and subsequently sent back to Bangladesh.

Immigration officials closed down both restaurants for 48 hours to allow them to obtain a compliance order from magistrates.

The orders, which will remain in place until July 2018, include "requirements that the business owner must check that their employees have the right to work, must permit entry by immigration officers to the premises to inspect for compliance and must inform immigration enforcement in writing before opening any other business," the Home Office said.

The compliance order allows immigration officials to visit the Taste of India up to twice monthly to check if the terms are being complied with.