Three arrests made as Home Office raid Stratford takeaway

THE Home Office carried out a raid on a Stratford takeaway at the end of last month. Immigration enforcement conducted a visit to Star Grill on Greenhill Street on Friday, February 28.

During the raid, three workers were arrested by officials. Two of these workers had no right to work and all were of Indian nationality.

The immigration enforcement team served Star Grill with a civil penalty referral notice. This was in respect to the two workers who were working at the takeaway illegally.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Organised Immigration Crime is a multi-million pound industry, which stretches from the trafficking routes thousands of miles away through which people are brought to our country to the high streets across Britain where many of those people end up working illegally.

“As part of our Plan for Change, this government is cracking down on that criminal industry at every level, including stepping up our raids on car washes and other businesses where illegal working is taking place. From July 2024 to January 2025, we have increased both the number of illegal working visits and arrests by around 38% when compared to the same period 12 months prior.”

The Home Office also shared the latest figures for people found to be working illegally during these visits. Across the midlands , 604 illegal working arrests were made between 5 July 2024 and 31 January 2025. This was from a total of 5,424 Home Office visits.

In total across the midlands in January 2025, 106 arrests were made. This is a rise from 79 in January 2024.