SIX people have been detained in immigration raids across the North-East.

Officers from Immigration Enforcement raided four restaurants and takeaways on Friday night as part of Operation Kestrel, which targets foreign criminals and immigration offenders.

Acting on intelligence, officers raided the Miveshi Restaurant in Alnwick just before 7pm and arrested four men from Bangladesh aged between 34 and 27 who had overstayed their visas.

All four were detained while steps are taken to remove them from the UK.

Officers then raided the Merton Way Chinese takeaway, in Ponteland at about 10pm.

A 31-year-old Chinese man who was found to have overstayed his visa and was ordered to report to Immigration Enforcement while his case is progressed. At about 11pm, officers visited China Cook, in Blyth where a man aged 48 and a woman aged 32, both Chinese nationals, were arrested.

The woman had overstayed her visa and the man had entered the UK illegally. Both are detained pending their removal from the UK. A further business in Berwick was visited, but no arrests were made.

The Alnwick restaurant has been served a referral notice warning that a financial penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker found will be imposed unless the employer 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.

There was no evidence that the individuals arrested at Ponteland or Blyth were working and so neither business was issued with an illegal working financial penalty.

David Harris, Immigration Enforcement assistant director, said: “This operation is an excellent example of the work my officers do to tackle those who flout immigration laws – either by employing those with no right to work or remaining in the UK when they have no permission to do so.

“Officers across the North East are also continuing to support Operation Kestrel, through which law enforcement organisations are using the combined weight of their powers to tackle issues which cut across all areas of their work.

“Illegal working is not harmless - it cheats the taxpayer, negatively affects the wages of lawful workers and allows rogue employers to undercut legitimate businesses”.