Cafe owner angry at immigration raid

Mandira's Kitchen, near Guildford, was raided by immigration officers on Wednesday

The owner of an Indian cafe and food business in Surrey has condemned the Home Office for an immigration raid on her premises.

Mandira Sarkar said 11 immigration enforcement officers, supported by police, turned up at Mandira's Kitchen, near Guildford, on Wednesday.

She said that the officers claimed they were acting on a tip off, before they questioned her staff and leaving without making any arrests.

The Home Office and Surrey Police said checks were carried out under licensing regulations.

Ms Sarkar said: "They were asked questions like, 'how busy is the cafe?', 'is the food made here?', 'where are your glasses kept?', 'where's alcohol served?'. It's irrelevant intrusive questioning.

"It's like a fishing expedition."

She said there were customers in the café when 11 officers jumped over the fences to the property.

"Of course they have to do checks, my main thing is the manner. On what basis have they conducted this check? A tip off can come from a malicious person," she told BBC Radio Surrey.

"It's like something out of a movie."

Mandira Sarkar's business was raided, although no arrests were made

The Home Office said the government was determined to clamp down on illegal activity in every sector where it occurred, including the hospitality sector.

Meanwhile, Surrey Police said its Modern Slavery and Organised Immigration Crime Unit and Immigration Enforcement complete intelligence-led visits to residential and commercial premises where suspected immigration and exploitation offences were taking place.

"A joint visit took place at a business premises at an address in Shere Lane, Guildford, to complete a routine licensing check under Section 179 of the Licensing Act 2003," a spokesperson said.

"No offences were identified."

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