A BOURNEMOUTH restaurant fined £30,000 for employing illegal workers less than a year ago is facing an even bigger financial penalty after being raided again.

Officers from the UK Border Agency visited the Taj Mahal in Poole Road, Westbourne, on Wednesday night to check the documents of members of staff.

They found five Bangladeshis who had no legal right to be employed in the UK. Four of the men, aged 22, 26, 27 and 45, were arrested and taken to Poole police station, where they remain in detention. A fifth, also 27, was placed on immigration bail.

If it is confirmed that the five have no right to be in the country, they will be removed. The illegal workers were carrying out a variety of jobs including working as waiters and cooking in the restaurant’s kitchen.

Their employer was issued with a penalty notice and could be fined up to £50,000 unless it can prove the correct checks were carried out before employing workers from outside Europe.

Last October, the Taj Mahal was found to be illegally employing six Bangladeshi men. Although the employer was given time to produce evidence that right-to-work checks were carried out, he was unable to do so and was fined £30,000. In a similar raid on Himachol Indian Cuisine in Ashley Road, Upper Parkstone, Poole, a 33-year-old Bangladeshi man was found working illegally in the kitchen. He was placed on immigration bail and his employer was warned he could be fined up to £10,000.

Phillip Smith, chief of operations for the UK Border Agency in Wales and South West, said: “We will not tolerate illegal working. It is a crime that not only undercuts local business but also has a serious impact on communities, taking jobs from those who are genuinely allowed to work.”