An Indian restaurant could be fined up to £60,000 after a raid by immigration officers.

The raid took place at the Prince of India on Preston Street, Faversham last Friday evening (February 2), and led to three men from Bangladesh being arrested on suspicion of working illegally.

According to the Home Office two of the men, both aged 27, had overstayed student visas while the third, a 32-year-old, held an expired tourist visa.

All three have been taken to an immigration detention centre to await deportation.

Mr Ali, the Prince of India’s manager, who did not wish to give his first name, said that the arrested employees were new recruits who had started work that day, and that Border Force officers arrived before he had checked their documents.

He said he had arrived at work at 6pm, having been on holiday, to find eight to 10 officers at his restaurant.

“It was very shocking. We never employ illegal workers, because we know that if you employ someone illegally you face fines and penalties.

“No employer would want to employ an illegal person and face a big fine.

“It was a Friday night, one of our busiest nights. I had the phone ringing, I had customers coming. It’s quite an embarrassment to face something like that. It’s never happened to me.”

According to Mr Ali, the officers said they had a search warrant and asked to check the documents of all his employees.

He now faces a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per worker unless he can demonstrate that appropriate right-to-work document checks were carried out.

“According to them they are illegal in this country, but I wasn’t aware of anything,” he continued.

Dalia Ali, 25, who witnessed the raid from across the road with her three children, saw the three men being handcuffed and taken away.

“There were so many officers and blue lights were flashing. I just can’t believe that happened,” she said.

“I was so scared, my children were crying. I thought it was a terrorist attack.”

Richard Lederle, the head of the Kent and Sussex immigration enforcement team, said: “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.

“I urge anyone with specific and detailed information about suspected immigration abuse to get in touch.”

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

People with information about suspected immigration abuse can go to www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.