Takeaway loses late-night licence after illegal workers found twice in five months

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter

A takeaway owner who was caught employing an illegal worker was found to have hired two more when immigration officers returned just five months later, councillors have heard.

The repeat breaches at All In One takeaway in Llanelli have led to the business losing its premises licence, while owner Haci Ali Turkmen was previously issued with an £80,000 civil penalty by the Home Office.

The licence allows late-night operating hours seven days a week at All In One takeaway, Murray Street, including from 11pm to 3.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. Mr Turkmen has sold the business but didn’t transfer the premises licence to the new owner.

A Home Office summary of the case said the illegal worker discovered on the first visit in February 2025 was handling potatoes with his hands covered in flour and told immigration officers he was preparing the food for himself and not working. But CCTV footage showed him cooking food and serving customers.

Home Office checks showed he’d illegally entered the UK the previous July and had no right to work.

Mr Turkmen was at the takeaway at the time of the visit and said he was the owner, the case summary said. Mr Turkmen said the suspected illegal worker didn’t formally work there then admitted he helped with tasks such as preparing roast potatoes when he was struggling. Mr Turkmen told the immigration officers he didn’t know the suspected illegal worker had no permission to work in the UK and described his immigration status as “private”.

When officers visited again in July 2025 a person behind the counter walked to the rear of the premises and sat on a freezer. He told the officers it was his first day there. Upon further questioning he said he’d been helping for a few weeks and the business belonged to his uncle.

Home Office checks

Home Office checks revealed he’d entered the UK illegally in September 2023 and his claim for protection had been refused in April 2025. His appeal against that decision was ongoing at the time of the July visit and working at a takeaway was in breach of his work restrictions. The situation was similar for the second illegal worker, who initially claimed he was at All In One to charge his phone, except that he’d entered the UK illegally in April 2023. The second worker said Mr Turkmen was his cousin.

Mr Turkmen told the officers he was in charge of hiring and the two people under suspicion had worked there for three to four months and five to six months respectively.

He said he paid them in cash, gave them food and cigarettes, and assumed they were allowed to work based on the wording of their biometric residence cards.

The case summary said it was pertinent that Mr Turkmen was present during both enforcement visits. “It is therefore concerning that no preventative measures were put in place following the first visit to prevent illegal working such as conducting right‑to‑work checks,” it said.

At the licensing sub-committee meeting Mr Turkmen, who said his English wasn’t good, said the cards in question said work was allowed and even the immigration officers said he was right. “How am I going to know?” he said.

Alex Romano, from the Home Office’s immigration enforcement department, said Mr Turkmen had made assumptions about what those cards meant. “Proper right to work checks were not undertaken,” she said.

Exploitation

Ms Romano said the ability to work illegally in the UK was a key driver of illegal migration. “It encourages people to breach UK immigration laws and it provides the means for migrant to remain unlawfully in the United Kingdom,” she said.

“It exposes individuals to exploitation and fuels dangerous journeys facilitated by people smugglers and unfairly disadvantages legitimate businesses that comply with the law. It also depresses wages for lawful workers and is often linked to wider labour market abuse.”

She said Mr Turkmen’s company was issued with an £80,000 penalty which remains unpaid. The company, St Kebab & Pizza Ltd, went into liquidation the month after the fine was issued.

Mr Turkmen said he no longer owned All In One takeaway but appealed to councillors not to revoke the premises licence because he’d told the new owner about the late hours permitted. The council’s legal officer Robert Edgecombe said the licence should have been transferred to the new owner but hadn’t.

After retiring to consider the evidence the sub-committee revoked the premises licence for All In One takeaway meaning it can’t open after 11pm.