A Maidstone restaurant has been fined £50,000 after an immigration raid led to six suspected illegal workers being arrested.

The Bangladeshi men, aged between 23 and 35, were removed from The Mughal Dynasty on London Road after 10 immigration officers stormed the premises in front of shocked diners in October.

One 35-year-old man has since been removed from the country, while a second, 29, is still in detention and two others, aged 26 and 23, have been released on bail pending further investigation.

Charges against a further two workers have been dropped. One was found to be working illegally but was not in breach of immigration law.

The Indian restaurant will have to pay after failing to provide the Home Office with sufficient paperwork for the employees.

Owner Mitu Chowdhury, 50, said: “We will be appealing the fine. I made full efforts to check the documents were legitimate. I am not a criminal.”

He said he expected it to take a year until an outcome was reached.

The Home Office has also revealed that after a separate raid on the Parkwood Hand Car Wash, Sutton Road, in September, a 23-year-old Albanian man has been deported. The business will face no further action after satisfying officials that it made adequate checks.

Richard Lederle, head of the Kent and Sussex Home Office Immigration Enforcement team, said: “Illegal working is not victimless and can involve the exploitation of some of society’s most vulnerable people. It also cheats the taxpayer, undercuts businesses that ply an honest trade and cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment .

“We are happy to work with employers who want to play by the rules. However, those who attempt to cheat the rules can expect to face the consequences.”