London: The owners of the prestigious
Rajput Indian restaurant in Harrogate have been found guilty
of a conspiracy to traffic their own chefs from India into the
UK and exploit them for financial gain.
Chef Shahnawaz Ali Khan, once lauded in press reviews
for his skills, his brother Raza Ali Khan and their mother
Parveen Khan were found guilty of trafficking up to nine
members of staff, following a three month trial at Leeds Crown
Court.
The case began after three of the workers came forward
reporting that they had been exploited and asking for help.
This led to an investigation, Operation Keepnet.
The investigations revealed a catalogue of
exploitation of workers at the Rajput restaurant dating back
to 2004.
The three convicted were all found to be complicit in
the business's day-to-day running and therefore involvement
with trafficking their workers.
Brothers Shahnawaz Ali and Raza Ali Khan served as
directors, Shahnawaz looked after the work permits and visas
whilst Raza was in charge of pay.
Their mother, Parveen was found to be closely involved
in the running of the restaurant and assisted with obtaining
work permits and documentation for their workers.
Following the operation officers from the UK Border
Agency's immigration crime team uncovered a further three
staff that had also been trafficked into the UK for
exploitation bringing the total to nine.
Many of the staff were previously working in
prestigious restaurants in the Middle East, India and
Pakistan, and had accepted offers to come and work
legitimately at the Rajput, signing formal work contracts and
obtaining work visas.
However, on arrival to the UK legally, they promptly
had their passports taken from them by one of the defendants
and then put them to work at the Rajput for up to 14 hours a
day, seven days a week.
The nine staff, all from either Pakistan or India,
claimed they were effectively barred from moving around
freely, forced to share accommodation with other staff and
transported to work by their employers so they could not
abscond.
In one incident an employee had their visa and photo
ripped out of their passport.
All received little or no money for their work.
Don Newlove, from the UK Border Agency said: "This was
a very serious and unusual case involving the exploitation of
vulnerable workers and is one of the first of its kind
involving legal foreign nationals who have then been
deliberately trafficked into the UK".
UK Border Agency's regional director Jeremy Oppenheim
said: "The owners of the Rajput restaurant have been under the
spotlight by the UK Border Agency for several years for a
range of immigration offences and, in a separate incident,
they were the target of a successful illegal working operation
in December last year where three illegal workers were
uncovered".
Of the nine victims who were exploited in this case,
three have returned home and six have remained in the UK
legally.
Helen Gaunt, senior crown prosecutor, said: "Behind
the conventional facade of a well-known Harrogate restaurant a
litany of gross exploitation for the purpose of financial gain
was discovered. We hope it is some small comfort to the
victims that justice has now been served in this case, and
that they can now go on to re-build their lives."
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 30, 2010, 17:52