TWELVE people have been arrested at restaurants in York, following an operation by the Home Office.

North Yorkshire Police assisted Immigration Enforcement officers on Thursday, with simultaneous visits to two branches of Jaipur Spice in Haxby Road and King Street, and Indian Ocean in The Green, Acomb.

Six illegal workers were found at the Haxby Road branch of Jaipur Spice, three at the Kings Street branch, and three at Indian Ocean, said a Home Office spokesman. All were aged between 18 and 55.

Assistant director Anita Bailey, from Home Office Immigration Enforcement, said 11 of the people remained in immigration detention and will be removed from the UK, and one had been released on bail while his case was dealt with.

Ms Bailey said: “Operations like this are carried out across the UK every day as we continue our work to track down and remove from the country those who seek to abuse our immigration laws.”

“Illegal working is not victimless. It defrauds the public purse, undercuts honest employers and cheats legitimate job hunters out of employment opportunities. The public can be a huge help and I urge people with information about suspected immigration offenders to get in touch.”

Anyone with information about immigration crime can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or go to crimestoppers-uk.org