Muscat: Pre-dawn raids in two Muscat suburbs on Monday led to the arrest of 1,074 expatriates staying illegally in Oman, the Muscat Police chief said.
General Jamal Bin Naseeb Al Shanfari said the Asian expats were arrested after the Royal Oman Police (ROP) and the Manpower Ministry intensified the campaign against illegal residents in the country.
"We raided some residential areas in Seeb and Ruwi after getting complaints from citizens about the presence of a large number of illegal residents," he said in a statement released by the ROP Public Relations Department.
He said that 887 people were found to be violating labour laws, while 187 were illegal residents. The police arrested 974 people from Ruwi area and 100 more people from Seeb.
"We also had complaints about some criminal activities carried out by these illegal residents," he said, adding that some of those arrested were found to be involved in smuggling of banned tobacco and its derivatives. Some were allegedly bootlegging alcohol and smuggling diesel.
"There were also some who were involved in violating country's telecommunications laws," he pointed out.
He vowed to continue the crackdown on illegal residents and those violating country's labour laws. "We will continue our campaign against illegal residents, who we believe are involved in increasing criminal activities in the country," he said.
He urged residents not to shelter illegal residents or those who are violating labour laws.
