Wembley restaurant could lose license after 5 arrested in Home Office raid

A restaurant in Wembley could have its license withdrawn after five people were arrested during a Home Office raid last year. Five of the six staff were found to be “working illegally”, with two appearing to be sleeping at the premises in a “converted shop”.

Gana Restaurant, a Sri Lankan and South Indian restaurant on Ealing Road in Wembley, will have its alcohol license reviewed by Brent Council next month after Immigration Enforcement claimed the owner breached it by “failing to prevent crime and disorder” .

Enforcement officers visited Ghana last September after the Ministry of Home Affairs received information that the restaurant was employing illegal workers. In total, five people were arrested, adding to the two previous arrests made in 2019 for the same offence. Two employees were found sleeping on top of the premises in what “appeared to be a converted warehouse”.

Due to the restaurant owner being a “repeat offender”, officers are urging the council to revoke the license entirely as they believe the suspension “would only have a short-term effect”. A subsequent report claimed that the owner “demonstrated a complete disregard” for immigration laws and their responsibility to carry out background checks on the people they employ.

The report states: “Whether through negligence or willful blindness, illegal workers have been engaged in work at the premises, but it is a simple process for an employer to determine what documents they should check before a person can work.”

It adds: “The use of illegal labor provides an unfair competitive advantage and deprives the UK economy of tax revenue. Illegal workers are often paid below the minimum wage (itself a crime) and no National Insurance contributions are made.”

Three of the five men arrested entered the UK on six-month visas which later expired, but none of them had permission to work of any kind. One of the workers initially told immigration officers they had only been there for two days, but later admitted he had been working for six months.

Another man was allowed to enter the UK as a student from December 2021 to May 2023 – with the right to work 20 hours during the course period – however further examination revealed he did not enroll on the course. There was also no evidence that he applied to extend his visa after it had expired.

He admitted that he has been working at the restaurant serving food for more than a year without paying any income tax. His shifts were between 12pm and 8pm, four days a week, for which he was paid £280 into his bank account. This works out to £8.75 an hour – well below the current UK minimum wage of £10.42.

Another person was found working in the kitchen, he had a visa valid until April 2024 but no right to work. He claimed he worked for four months as a chef, being paid £60 a day to work shifts from 12.30pm to 1.30am.

The immigration officers’ report noted that the owner of the restaurant returned during the inspection. She claimed she “didn’t know any of the employees who were identified as illegal workers” because she was on maternity leave and her husband is responsible for running the restaurant and managing the staff. Brent Council’s alcohol and entertainment licensing sub-committee will consider the case at a meeting on July 11.