King's Lynn's Spice Inn owner loses licence after raid

Immigration officers made the discovery at Spice Inn, a curry house in King's Lynn, in July this year following a tip-off.

They found four people wearing chef whites and waiter uniforms working at the restaurant who were later identified as having no legal basis to live or work in the UK.

The immigration raid comes amid an increase in arrests of illegal workers in Norfolk (Image: Getty Images)

Some of the workers were being paid below the minimum wage, with one claiming they were paid as little as £50 a week and they also received food and accommodation as payment.

Owner Mr Abdul Shahin, who lives more than 100 miles away in Birmingham and has run the restaurant for nine years, accepted he had made the "wrong choice" amid "challenging economic challenges" and that he would be more diligent in the future.

According to his representative, he was an upstanding member of the business community and had never been in trouble before and that he would make changes to the running of the restaurant.

READ MORE: Owner of village store loses licence after raid finds illegal workers

The Home Office has said arrests of illegal workers have more than doubled in 2023 compared to last year (Image: PA)

Jack Davies, chief immigration officer for the East of England, questioned whether Mr Shahin was in suitable control of the business due to living far away and worried if other licensing rules, like the sale of alcohol, were not being met.

He added the raid on the Spice Inn comes amid a significant increase in the number of illegal workers being employed in Norfolk - nationally arrests have more than doubled in 2023.

The Home Office called on West Norfolk Council to revoke Mr Shahin's licence in its entirety in order to act as a deterrent to other businesses.

Members of the West Norfolk licensing committee agreed to this decision after deciding that a temporary suspension would not be appropriate. 

A new licence application can be made for the business in 28 days.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that the restaurant had been shut down. This was incorrect. The owner's licence has been revoked but the restaurant remains open to customers.