Kuwait cracks down on fake labour office

Cairo: Kuwaiti police had arrested an expatriate of an Arab nationality running a phantom labour office amid a stepped-up clampdown by authorities in the country on illegal recruitment agencies.

The office dealt with illegal migrants violating Kuwait’s residency law and was operated under the cover of a clean-up business.

Police of residency affairs raided the office after receiving several legal complaints that the place harboured illegal and runaway workers, a security source said.

Police investigations proved that the operator of the office was wanted in connection to another case.

He was arrested along with 26 illegal workers inside an apartment in the area of Al Salmiya east of Kuwait City

Last month, Kuwaiti police raided five fake recruitment offices and arrested 19 illegal domestic helpers.

Kuwait has repeatedly extended the grace period for illegal residents in the past months to allow time for them to legalise their status.

The Gulf country of around 4.8 million people mostly migrant workers, has in recent months sought to redress its demographic imbalance amid fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.