Officers from the Home Office visited Shenai Indian Restaurant in Yorktown Road at 6pm on Friday last week and questioned staff to establish whether they had the right to live and work in the UK.

Following their questioning, officers arrested six men aged between 19 and 28 after they were found to have overstayed their visas. Two of the six men, aged 27 and 28, were transferred to immigration detention and are awaiting deportation from the country. The other four must regularly report to the Home Office while their individual cases are progressed.

The seventh man arrested, aged 26, was found to have been working in breach of his visa conditions.

Paul Smith, assistant director of the Thames Valley and Surrey Home Office Immigration Enforcement team, said: “This was a successful operation resulting in the arrest of a number of immigration offenders.

“The message to businesses in Berkshire using illegal labour is clear. Our dedicated, specialist teams will catch you and if the correct checks have not been carried out you will pay a heavy penalty.

“Illegal working cheats the taxpayer, undercuts honest employers and often exploits some of society’s most vulnerable people.

“We rely on information from the public and I would urge people to report suspected immigration abuse to us.” The restaurant was also handed a notice warning that a penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker arrested could be imposed unless the employer can demonstrate that appropriate right-to-work document checks were carried out, such as seeing a passport or Home Office document. If proof is not provided, the penalties could mount up to £140,000.

Information to help employers carry out checks to prevent illegal working can be found by visiting www.gov.uk/government/collections/employers-illegal-working-penalties People with information about suspected immigration abuse can visit www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime or call Crimestoppers anomyously on 0800 555111.​