Diners at a popular west Highland restaurant were shocked when half way through their main course immigration officers raided the kitchen – taking away six men.
Customers were forced to leave the premises shortly after 6pm after only “a handful” staff members were left inside the New Highland Star premises on Fort William’s High Street.
Immigration officers arrived at the premises and removed six men, all who were alleged to have been working illegally at the Chinese restaurant.
It is alleged that two of the men, aged 44 and 32, had entered the UK illegally, three aged 33, 35 and 41 were working in breach of their visitor visas and one, aged 39, had overstayed his visa.
It is understood that all of the men have been detained in custody pending their removal from the UK.
A spokesman for the Home Office said: “Where illegal working is suspected, businesses may be served a notice warning that a financial penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker may be imposed.
He continued: “The employer will be liable unless they can demonstrate that appropriate right to work document checks were carried out such as seeing a passport or Home Office document confirming permission to work.”
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Donald Scott, from Glasgow, who was in Fort William for the night, shared a post “uninvited guests” on social media to the restaurant’s Facebook page, before removing it.
He later told The Press and Journal: “My friend and I were eating our main course when all of a sudden the place was filled with immigration officers and the police – and they started taking people out of the kitchen and putting them into vans outside.”
Mr Scott said the restaurant wasn’t very busy at the time of the raid, with a large number of empty tables.
“We were asked to leave, and it looked like there were maybe only a handful, maybe two people left working front of house – they looked very confused, as if they really did not know what had happened.”
Police assisted immigration officers at the restaurant, and trading standards officers from Highland Council were also present.
In the last week, a menu had been delivered to every house in the area claiming the premises were under new ownership.
Attempts to contact the restaurant were unsuccessful last night.
