A restaurant in Knightsbridge could lose its licence after being raided by Border Force officers who arrested two men for being illegal immigrants.
Giovanni restaurant in Yeoman’s Row, just yards from Harrods, was prosecuted after police and immigration officers detained two Albanians who were on the premises on October 19.
A report by immigration officials said barman Elton Gramshi subsequently admitted that he had paid £4,000 to be smuggled into the UK five years ago in the back of a lorry from Calais.
The other man, who was seen hanging up a customer’s coat and was wearing an outfit that appeared to match the owner’s, is also being deported.
The Met police have now asked Kensington and Chelsea council to consider stripping the restaurant of its premises licence, saying they are also “concerned” about its management, amid complaints from neighbours about noise and threatening behaviour.
A Home Office spokeswoman said two men arrested for immigration offences have been detained “while steps are taken to remove them from the UK”.
Restaurant owner Bashkim Basha, 46, of Kosovo, denied that the men were staff, telling the Standard: “I have had a neighbour complaining. This is about the neighbourhood against me.”
Lawyers for Mr Basha, also known as Adriano, said the barman was on an unpaid, three-day trial, and expressed Mr Basha’s “remorse and embarrassment at the error”.
A council report said that since the restaurant expanded last summer there had been more regular complaints from residents about diners drinking and smoking outside late at night. The licensing sub-committee will decide what action to take at a hearing on Thursday.
