Eleven alleged immigration offenders were arrested by a Home Office enforcement team from restaurants and takeaways in Shetland, it has emerged.
The Home Office has confirmed that, acting on intelligence, immigration enforcement action was taken at four different eateries in the islands.
Attempts will now be made to deport all those involved.
Officers visited the Raba Indian Restaurant and Mr T’s, both on Lerwick’s Commercial Road, simultaneously at 1pm on Thursday. Action was also taken at the Taj Tandoori in Brae at 5.30pm, followed by Hai Yang on Scalloway’s New Street at around 9.15pm.
Staff at each location were questioned to check whether they had the right to live and work in the UK.
Two men were arrested at the Raba – a 23-year-old Bangladeshi man was found to have overstayed his student visa, while a 31-year-old Nepalese national was found to be an immigration offender.
Three men were arrested at Mr T’s – two Nepalese nationals, aged 26 and 37, and a 37-year-old Pakistani man. The Home Office said the younger Nepalese man was found to be an immigration offender, while the older one was found to have entered the country illegally, as had the Pakistani man.
Immigration enforcement officials said a 32-year-old Bangladeshi man found at the Taj Tandoori had overstayed a visit visa.
Five Chinese nationals were arrested at Scalloway’s Hai Yang, all of whom the Home Office said were found to have entered the country illegally. They included four men, aged between 37 and 47, and a 42-year-old woman.
Stephen Roarty of the Home Office’s immigration enforcement team – which carried out the Shetland operation in partnership with Police Scotland – said in a statement issued on Monday that it was a “clear warning to those in Scotland abusing our immigration laws that, wherever you are in the country, our dedicated and well-resourced teams will find you”.
“The use of illegal labour is not victimless,” he said. “It defrauds the taxpayer, undercuts genuine employers and denies legitimate job hunters work.
“We are happy to work with employers who want to play by the rules but those who flout them will face heavy financial penalties.”