Seventeen suspected illegal workers arrested in Hong Kong immigration crackdown
Hong Kong's Immigration Department arrested 17 suspected illegal workers, two employers and one overstayer during a week-long operation from 2 to 8 October, targeting restaurants, renovation sites and beauty salons across multiple districts.
Hong Kong's Immigration Department arrested 17 suspected illegal workers, two employers and one overstayer during a series of coordinated anti-illegal employment operations between 2 and 8 October.
The enforcement operations were conducted jointly with the Hong Kong Police Force, the Labour Department, the Customs and Excise Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
During the week-long crackdown, officers raided numerous target locations across multiple districts, including restaurants, premises under renovation, and beauty salons.
The 17 suspected illegal workers comprised 15 men and two women aged between 22 and 58. Among them, five men and one woman were found to be holders of recognizance forms, which strictly prohibit them from taking up any employment.
The two employers arrested on suspicion of hiring illegal workers were men aged 48 and 64. The sole overstayer apprehended during the operations was a 49-year-old man.
Immigration authorities said active investigations into the employers who allegedly hired the undocumented workers were still underway, and added that further arrests had not been ruled out.