Five arrests made as immigration officers raid restaurant

[dutchman]

Tumeric Gold on Spon Street was raided by officers last night but management dispute the number of arrests made



Five men were arrested last night following an immigration raid at an Indian restaurant in Coventry.

Immigration Enforcement officers were sent to Tumeric Gold on Spon Street just after 7pm on Saturday night.

They arrested five Bangladeshi men working at the restaurant on suspicion of being in the UK illegally.

Jay Allam, manager of the restaurant, told the Telegraph today that service at the restaurant was brought to a halt for 90 minutes and he disputed the number of arrests that had been made.

Talking about the five arrests, Mr Allam said: "They left a piece of paper with me that says less than that. I don't want to say how many but it was less than that.

"People are saying we have closed but we are not closed. There was no food from 7pm to 8.30pm but we stayed open and we are open.

"They stopped the chefs and everyone from working.

"We do our best to ensure we abide by the law. We feel we have been targetted."

Tumeric Gold is located in Coventry's medieval district and has won a number of awards for its food.

Saturday's events follow a separate raid at another Coventry restaurant, Wing Wah, where police said 12 suspected slaves were found.

Wing Wah bosses have since strongly denied any wrongdoing and made their own accusations about the police action.