TWO men working illegally at a restaurant have been arrested and taken to immigration detention, the Home Office said.

Immigration officers arrested the pair, aged 23 and 32, at the Bombay Aloo restaurant in Ship Street, Brighton.

A Home Office spokesman said the men had overstayed their visas and were taken to immigration detention pending removal from the country.

Richard Lederle, head of the Kent and Sussex Home Office immigration enforcement team, said they found the two men at the restaurant at 3pm on Friday following a tip-off.

He said: “Illegal working cheats the taxpayer, undercuts honest employers and often exploits some of society’s most vulnerable people.”

The vegetarian restaurant was warned that financial penalties of up to £20,000 per undocumented worker would be imposed unless they could show they carried out appropriate checks .

A member of staff at the vegetarian restaurant who answered the phone to The Argus yesterday said no-one was available to comment.

The Argus contacted the restaurant yesterday was told no one was available to comment.