SHARJAH // More than 12,000 illegal residents, street vendors, runaway maids and beggars were arrested during the first 11 months of this year in Sharjah.
A total of 12,021 people were found to be in breach of the residency laws. The individuals were from various nationalities, police said.
“Our teams apprehended 3,922 females and 8,099 men in our raids,” said Lt Col Salem Harimal, head of the Residency Violations Department at Sharjah police, adding that some of those arrested had ran away from their sponsors.
Police targeted locations frequented by illegal residents in the raids.
”The crackdown is ongoing and violators will prosecuted to the full extent of the law to limit illegal activities in the emirate,” said Lt. Col Harimal.
He urged residents to report all suspicious and illegal activities to police.
In October, Sharjah police raided a flat in the emirate and arrested 39 runaway maids from Pakistan and Indonesia who were all living in the same apartment.
tzriqat@thenational.ae
