The Darjeeling in Sidcup High Street has been issued with an £80k civil penalty which is yet to be paid
A Bexley curry house can no longer sell alcohol to customers after the Home Office found two Bangladeshi men illegally working there last year.
It was found that Saiful Islam, former owner of The Darjeeling in Sidcup High Street, had failed to conduct right to work checks before employing some of his staff and “his failings have meant the premises have been used for serious criminal activity”.
This quote was taken from the minutes of Bexley Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee meeting on March 24. At the committee meeting, Alexandra Romano spoke on behalf of the Home Office who called for the full revocation of the licence.
She explained that the South Central Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) team visited The Darjeeling on May 15, 2025 after receiving intelligence the restaurant was employing illegal workers.
The officers encountered five employees on their visit, two of whom were found to be working illegally. Both of the male workers were found to be from Bangladesh.
Ms Romano said the first illegal employee worked front of house and claimed to work 20 hours a week for £250, paid in cash. No document or right to work checks had been conducted prior to them commencing work.
Ms Romano said the second man, who was working in the kitchen, also had no right to work. Home Office records showed the man had entered the UK on a visitor visa which was valid for six months back in 2004. The Home Office report said he had over stayed and submitted multiple applications for leave which were refused.
Ms Romano said there were “inconsistencies in the licence holder Mr S Islam’s account of working hours and patterns” and asserted that “his willingness to deceive officers demonstrated that he could not be trusted to uphold the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective”.
She also explained that Mr S Islam had been issued with an £80,000 civil penalty last summer following the discovery of the illegal workers, but the penalty had yet to be paid.
Ms Romano said the £80k penalty had been issued to Sweet Wave Ltd, a limited company of which Mr S Islam was the sole director, but Sweet Wave had gone into liquidation after an objection to the penalty was turned down and the penalty maintained. She said the liquidation suggested a “pattern of behaviour” shown by Mr S Islam.
Ms Romano also said Mr S Islam had “facilitated and benefitted from the long-term employment of illegal workers” and as he had held the licence from 2009, he should be “fully aware of his responsibilities”.
When invited by the committee to speak, Mr S Islam “took the blame for not maintaining records, misunderstood requirements and was sorry it had happened”. He confirmed that after he viewed employee passports, he had not carried out further checks on their eligibility to work.
Mr S Islam explained that since the incident, he had sold The Darjeeling and used the cash to repay his debts and suppliers. He remained as the restaurant’s licence-holder and Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) and still worked there as a waiter.
The Darjeeling was bought by Mohammod Islam (no relation) who informed the committee that ever since he took over the business, “he had undertaken the relevant employment checks and procedures to ensure it was compliant”.
Bexley’s Licensing Sub-Committee took just 13 minutes to reach a decision. It decided to revoke The Darjeeling’s licence and agreed with the Home Office’s view that Mr S Islam had shown either “negligence or wilful blindness” which resulted in illegal workers being employed at his restaurant.
The committee had “no confidence in Mr Saiful Islam” and felt “his failings have meant the premises have been used for serious criminal activity”. The licence revocation means The Darjeeling is prohibited from selling alcohol.
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