ILLEGAL workers from Bangladesh were caught during a raid at a Bournemouth restaurant last week.

Home Office enforcement officers, acting on gathered intelligence, visited the Indian Lounge in Old Christchurch Road at around 7.45pm on Thursday, March 12, to question staff about their right to work.

They arrested four men. Two, aged 33 and 65, were found to have overstayed their visas. A 27-year-old had obtained leave to remain by deception and a 39-year-old had entered the country illegally.

The restaurant now faces a potential fine of up to £80,000.

Chief Immigration Officer Phil Reay, from the South Central Home Office Immigration Enforcement team, said: "These arrests should serve as a warning to businesses in Dorset using illegal labour.

"Our dedicated, specialist teams have the expertise to 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 Home Office said all four men had been ordered to report to the authorities regularly while steps are taken to remove them from the UK.

The Indian Lounge was served with a notice warning that a financial penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker arrested will be imposed unless the management can demonstrate that appropriate right to work document checks were carried out - such as seeing a passport or Home Office document.

The restaurant's manager, Shumun Akkas, said two of the four workers had only started last week, and the 27-year-old was an unpaid student doing work experience.

"They had passports, visas, insurance numbers and driving licences, as far as we could tell they were valid documents," he said.

Information to help employers carry out checks to prevent illegal working can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/employers-illegal-working-penalties.

It includes a new quick answer right-to-work tool to help employers check if someone has the right to work in the UK.