A Morecambe restaurateur has told of how she was duped by two Malaysian men who were last week deported for being illegal immigrants.

Mrs Ip, who runs the Honey Tree Chinese Restaurant on Marine Road, said the men appeared to have the relevant documents and it came as a complete surprise when police arrested them last Thursday.

She said: "They were only here a few days. I was short staffed and it was busy over the bank holiday weekend when they came. They had their yellow cards and said they were students. They'd come up from London. "I didn't really get to know a lot about them. I didn't talk to them a lot, we were very busy. I know there was another restaurant involved but I don't know where it is." Six people were arrested from the two restaurants (the other is believed to be in Lancaster) for being illegal immigrants. Four were deported to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, at the weekend. The two other men are Chinese, one of whom has sought asylum status. Immigration officers are dealing with one and the other has been released. A spokesman for the Immigration Service said it was often difficult to obtain documents for people from China which delays the deportation process.

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