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Maidstone: Immigration arrests at Pizza Go Go in Tonbridge Road

By: Claire McWethy cmcwethy@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 00:00, 03 July 2016

Updated: 09:08, 03 July 2016

Four men were arrested following an immigration raid at a takeaway restaurant.

Acting on a tip off, officers went to Pizza Go Go in Tonbridge Road on Thursday evening and questioned a number of people over their right to live and work in the UK.

Two of the men, a 23-year-old from Afghanistan and a Chinese national aged 25, had overstayed their visitor visas.

Pizza Go Go in Tonbridge Road

A second Afghanistan national, aged 21, was found to have entered the UK illegally. All three remain in immigration detention pending deportation.

The fourth man, a 35-year-old from China who had entered the UK illegally, must now report regularly to immigration enforcement officers while his case is progressed.

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Franchisee Mansour Gholami maintained that Pizza Go Go had done nothing wrong.

He said two of the men were customers. One from Afghanistan was having training while the Chinese man, who was released, works there as a chef.

He said: "The officers came to find a man they were looking for who was here having a pizza, breaking his fast for Ramadan. He was coming here for something to eat and we confirmed he didn't work here. All our staff wear uniforms.

"They spoke to some other people, including our chef who has been released.

"We have done nothing wrong and the owner is meeting with immigration tomorrow."

Mohammad Gholami and his father, franchisee Mansour Gholami

Mr Gholami has previously appeared on Channel 4's Undercover Boss where Pizza Go Go's owner was so impressed with his work ethic, he made the franchisee a national ambassador for the company.

A Home Office spokesman said a civil penalty action against the business was being considered.

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Businesses can be fined up to £20,000 per illegal worker found unless bosses can demonstrate that appropriate checks were carried out.

Assistant director Richard Lederle, head of the Kent and Sussex Immigration Enforcement team, said: “We are working hard to tackle illegal working and those who abuse the UK’s immigration system

“We expect everyone here illegally to leave the UK voluntarily; for those who don’t the message is clear. We will find, detain and remove you.

“There are simple checks employers can carry out to ensure their employees have the right to work in the UK. Those who choose to ignore the rules will face the consequences."

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