Three businesses have been hit with fines totalling £222,000 for employing illegal workers.
It follows a fresh wave of Home Office raids at Ocean Hand Car Wash in Strood, Fireaway Pizza in Peters Village Centre, Wouldham, and Taal Indian Kitchen in Walderslade.
Ocean Hand Car Wash in Strood was found to have employed six illegal workers. Photo: Google.
In total, eight people were arrested across the Medway Towns following the action between March and October 2025.
The largest find was at the car wash in Knight Road where two Romanian men, one Romanian woman, a Slovakian man and woman, and an Iranian man were arrested on May 9, 2025.
A civil penalty notice (CPN) was issued for £135,000 to Ocean Valeting Ltd for employing three people with no right to work in the UK on January 9 this year.
In the company’s most recent submission on Companies House, which only covers up to June 2025, the business ois said to employ only three people.
Ocean Valeting Ltd, run by Jiri Benes, was due to submit records on June 20.
On Tuesday (September 22) it was hit with a strike-off notice and given two months to comply.
KentOnline approached the business for comment.
Fireaway Pizza in Unit 3 of St Peters Village Centre, was visited by immigration enforcement on October 12, 2025, where one Nigerian man was arrested.
Fireaway Wouldham Limited received a CPN for £45,000 for employing one individual without the right to work on December 17.
In March, Companies House gave two months notice of being struck off the record if accounts were not updated, however this action was suspended due to an objection.
The branch is a franchise of Fireaway Pizza run by Sanjit Singh Mann and Anoop Sharma, who also ran the franchises at Pier 5, The Quays, Chatham and 19 Twydall Green, Rainham.
The employing of illegal workers resulted in a total of £220,000 in fines for the businesses visited by immigration enforcement. Stock image. Picture: Suffolk Police
The Chatham outlet is also listed as temporarily closed while the Rainham branch is officially dissolved on Companies House.
Taal Indian Kitchen at 58 Silverweed Rd, Walderslade, were visited on March 12 last year and one Bangladeshi man was arrested by immigration enforcement.
The CPN for employing an individual without the right to work for £40,000 was issued to Chatham Spice and Grill, run by Mrs Meherun Noor Rahman, on April 10 2025.
The business went into voluntary liquidation in November, which is being managed by Finn Associates in Bradford.
Finn Associates were contacted for comment.
A Medway Council spokesperson said: "Medway Trading Standards and Environmental Health, along with officers from the wider Public Protection Team, work closely with our partners in HMRC, Border Force and Kent Police to ensure a fair and legal trading environment.
“Officers have carried out a number of joint operations over the years and continue to pass intelligence to other agencies where officers find alleged breaches."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Illegal working undermines honest employers, undercuts local wages, and fuels organised immigration crime. This government will not stand for it.
"Since coming into power, we have increased immigration enforcement action to the highest level in British history. This has delivered a 122% rise in illegal working arrests, and a 111% rise in raids."
