Dubai: A total of 127 illegal Asian residents were arrested in Dubai in a few hours as part of a campaign by the General Directorate For Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA).
Lt Colonel Khalaf Ahmad Al Ghaith, Assistant Director General at GDRFA, said the men were arrested in the Satwa area on September 15.
He said: “We received a tip from a member of the public and after checking the credibility of the tip we arrested the illegal men, who were taken to Al Aweer deportation centre. The case will be transferred to the public prosecutor for more investigation.”
Lt Colonel Al Ghaith added that a series of intensive random inspection campaigns had been implemented in different areas of Dubai and promised to track offenders of the residency law “around the clock”.
“Any breach of the law threatens the stability of the society, because illegal residents can commit crimes and affect the safety of the country,” said Major General Mohammad Ahmad Al Merri, Director General of General Directorate of GDRFA.
Meanwhile, a total of 66 illegal Asian and African domestic helpers were arrested last week in the Al Bidaa, Satwa and Jumeirah areas of Dubai as part of the GDFRA campaign.
Major General Al Merri said they were charged with absconding from their sponsor and staying and working in the emirate illegally.
Lt Colonel Al Ghaith said: “We are contacting their original sponsors and if it is proved that they were working illegally, the people who hired them will have to pay a Dh50,000 fine.”
He encouraged illegal residents to approach the department in order to amend their legal status or leave the country and called on members of the public to cooperate with the authority and report illegal residents by calling 8005111.
