Lancaster city centre takeaway boss asks for 'one last chance' as licence decision due

A Lancaster takeaway boss has asked for "one last chance" as a decision is due on whether he can keep his premises licence.

Rudolf Collaku of Flames Takeaway is facing potential closure of his city centre business, after a meeting at Morecambe Town Hall about the future of the licence.

An immigration officer said that instances of illegal working at Flames had been "one of the worst cases I've seen".

Immigration officers visited the Rosemary Lane fast food outlet on five occasions between October 2022 and May 2024, and found six people working illegally there.

The takeaway was served a closure notice and has been fined £110,000 for employing illegal workers.

But a solicitor representing Flames said at the meeting, that allegations of money laundering and modern slavery at the takeaway were "not true".

Police have backed a Home Office request to revoke the premises licence, which allows Flames to serve hot food and other refreshments between 11pm and 5am Monday to Sunday.

PC Andy Taylor, licensing officer at Lancashire Police, said Flames had "failed to self-regulate" and there had been "poor management and a lack of responsibility".

The final decision will be taken by Lancaster City Council's licensing sub-committee of three councillors, who heard nearly two-and-a-half hours of evidence from all parties on Tuesday.

Home Office Immigration Enforcement had applied for a review of the premises licence at Flames.

Mr Collaku, who was at the meeting, has been the premises licence holder since June 2019.

A council report, published ahead of Tuesday's meeting, said:

"Home Office Immigration Enforcement service are satisfied that activities undertaken at Flames takeaway over recent years involving illegal workers and practices are clearly prejudicial to the prevention of immigration crime including illegal working.

"The premises has been visited on five occasions between October 2022 and May 2024 by Home Office Immigration Enforcement Officers where illegal working has been a constant theme, with six illegal workers have been encountered.

"On the most recent visit, Enforcement Officers served a closure notice.

"On each occasion it was established by Immigration Enforcement Officers that the incumbent premises licence holder, Mr Rudolf Collaku, was the liable party.

"Accordingly, civil penalties totalling £110,000 have been issued to the business on three separate occasions, all of which currently remain unpaid.

"(These were a) civil penalty of £15,000 issued on 24 March 2023 for employing a person with no right to work in the UK. This was objected and the decision was maintained on 18 April 2023. No payment has been made yet.

"Civil penalty of £40,000 issued on 17 January 2024 with a payment due date of 16th February 2024 for employing two people, one in breach of their work conditions and the other with no right to work in the UK. No payment has been made yet.

"Civil penalty of £55,000 issued on 21 June 2024 for employing a person with no right to work in the UK. No payment has been received yet, but the penalty is not due for payment until 23 July 2024. The liable party has until 22 July 2024 to object to the penalty.

"It is considered the licence holder, Mr Rudolf Collaku, has deliberately overlooked the rules and laws in place to prevent crime and disorder."

The report said that the Home Office believed a full revocation of the premises licence at Flames was "justified and proportionate" and this was backed by PC Andrew Taylor, licensing officer for Lancashire Police.

"Police have provided supporting evidence of illegal workers at Flames takeaway and breaches of the conditions within their premises licence relating specifically to a lack of SIA door staff being on duty," said the report.

"Regular reports of delivery vehicles parked on the pavement outside Flames have been received affecting public safety on the corner of the one-way system which joins Rosemary Lane.

"There were reports to police of people who have been employed at the premises to work and treated poorly and classed as modern slavery. Although there were no successful prosecutions in these cases, on the balance of probabilities, police believe these reported incidents have occurred.

"PC Taylor further contends receiving reports of people having their documents seized which he believes will be to control the person and then being slapped when they asked for their documents back. These people are extremely scared and not willing to make a further complaint in fear of further repercussions.

"Upon investigating one of the reports of modern slavery on 3rd April 2019, police carried out a warrant of entry at Flames Takeaway. During the search of the premises at least £40,000 was seized from the safe. PC Taylor described the money as being rotten in the water in the safe which in his opinion was a clear sign of money laundering through criminal activity. Most businesses would bank their cash regularly for safety in case of a burglary but also to show good bookkeeping for tax purposes. This was not the case at Flames takeaway.

"It is the opinion of police that all these problems highlighted build a picture of a venue and licence holder who runs a business with little or no regard to promoting the four licensing objectives. Mr Collaku has shown time and again that no matter what warnings, penalties or enforcement is done at the premises, he choses to ignore these actions and continues to commit offences."

One of several incidents cited in a report by PC Taylor, came in March 2019.

"A Bulgarian female contacted police stating she had travelled to Lancashire from her home country. Collaku has then given the female a job at Flames where she has been subjected to labour exploitation. She states she has been working at Flames for five months as a cook and a cleaner. She states Collaku has retained her passport to prevent her returning to Bulgaria."

Another incident mentioned by PC Taylor, said that police had received a report of modern slavery from a Bulgarian male in June 2022.

"The male spoke very little English but was asking for help," said the report.

"He said he had been working at Flames that they had been abusive and hit him and that they have his documents, and he is scared and overwhelmed. The male had his suitcase with him and had run off or been thrown out. An interpreter was arranged, and the male was spoken to through the interpreter.

"He stated he had been in the country since 24th May and was invited to work at the shop. His documents were taken from him. He was told they would sort out a work visa and they had not. He asked for his documents back and he was slapped. He has been making pizzas and was paid £200 in total but was promised more than this. He has been living at an unknown address with other Bulgarians who also work there. He has run away from the business. CID investigated this matter and attended Flames and the address where the male had been living. It was established that the male alleged being slapped by Rudolf Collaku following a verbal argument.

"This was crimed but the male did not want to make a complaint and just wanted to go home to Bulgaria. No further action at this time."

David Eglin, the council's licensing enforcement officer, PC Taylor and Josh Johns, chief immigration officer, all gave evidence at Tuesday's meeting (pictured below).

Mr Johns said that in 10 years it was "one of the worst cases I've seen".

Ben Williams, of Harrison Drury Solicitors representing Mr Collaku, speaking at the meeting, said his client is originally from Albania, and came to Lancaster in 2000 to study at Lancaster University, attaining a degree in economics.

He said he lives locally with his wife and two young children, and employs three full-time staff at Flames who all had the right to work in the UK, as does his wife who runs the business with him.

Mr Williams said Mr Collaku "accepts most of the findings of the Home Office Immigration Enforcement" and "realises he had made errors" but had "seen the error of his ways".

He also said Mr Collaku had now agreed a payment plan towards his outstanding fines and the first payment had been made earlier this month.

He said his client "wishes to retain the premises licence to provide for his family and retain the three full-time staff".

Mr Williams said revoking the licence "will almost certainly close him down".

"He is completely compliant now," he said.

"In the past he has naively relied on the word of what he was told, including from one (employee) who had overstayed (in the UK).

"He didn't fully appreciate the significance of where he found himself, until very recently."

On the situation with lack of door security, he said his client had been "let down by door staff" but Flames "remained closed" on the night when the authorities visited and he "didn't seek to hoodwink the police in any way".

Mr Williams also said that Mr Collaku "doesn't agree with a lot of the allegations" in the council's and PC Taylor's report and that many of the more serious accusations had come about from "complaints and nothing more" saying "there are no convictions, not even any charges".

He also said he didn't accept the allegations of modern slavery, saying "complaints had been made through an interpreter and things could be lost".

Mr Williams said that with regards to the 2019 incident, the female's documentation had been found at her premises, and not his client's.

He also said that the male in the 2022 incident was a "disgruntled ex-employee".

Mr Williams also said: "There is absolutely no evidence to say that my client is laundering money" and that he "typically does bank every four weeks".

He said the money found in the safe was takings and were "to settle a tax debt" and Mr Collaku said the cash was wet because the floor had been mopped and the safe was not properly sealed.

In closing, Mr Williams said his client "has not made a good job of self-regulating" but that "it isn't too little, too late" and he felt Mr Collaku "deserves one last chance".

The committee of Councillors Sally Maddocks, Martin Bottoms and Margaret Pattison, after asking several questions, retired to make a decision.

The official decision will be released within five working days of the meeting.