An Indian restaurant raided by immigration officers last year was not fined or found to be liable despite three arrests.

Immigration enforcement officers arrested three men at Blue Mint in Waterloo Road, Epsom, on September 13.

In November, the restaurant received a notice informing the owners that it it was not liable and would not have to pay fines in relation to its two Bangladeshi workers.

Moin Uddin, the owner of Blue Mint, said he was keen that people know that the restaurant had not done anything wrong.

He said the third arrested man, an Indian, lived above the restaurant but was not an employee.

Mr Uddin said they had carried out all the necessary checks before offering employment to the other two men.

He said: "The staff provided documentation to us at the time. It seemed OK and that’s why we gave them a job. They don’t work for me anymore."

He said immigration raids were "big news", adding: "Businesspeople suffer because people think we are deliberately employing illegal people. But the documents they provide, we check them to the best of our ability."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The employer was held to be not liable for the employment of the three people arrested during this operation.

"The Indian man was believed to be working at the restaurant at the time of the operation, and the fact remains he is an immigration offender we are looking to remove."

He said the men were found to be "immigration offenders" and their cases are being progressed and steps being taken to remove them.

He confirmed none of them are in immigration detention, but declined to elaborate any further.

In a statement on September 16, 2013, the Home Office said: "At Blue Mint, which was visited at 12pm, three men were arrested.

"A Bangladeshi man, aged 33, and 29-year-old Indian man were both found to have overstayed their visas while a 28-year-old Bangladeshi man had entered the country illegally."