14 arrested for entering the country illegally

SHARJAH // Fourteen people were arrested on Friday as they tried to illegally enter the country through the mountains of Manama on the UAE and Oman border.

"We have already handed them to the Department of Naturalisation and Foreign Affairs for the investigation into their infiltration," a police spokesman said.

Seven of the men were Pakistani, while the other seven were Bangladeshi.

The arrests were the second mass swoop on illegal immigrants this month.

Nineteen people, 18 Bangladeshis and one Indian, were arrested two weeks ago after being caught using the same route to illegally enter the country.

Last month, police arrested 52 illegal residents found working in a car garage in an industrial area.

Officers described the garage as a "secret hotel" for illegals.

Police were appealing to all residents not to employ illegal immigrants.

In addition to breaking the country's residency laws, officials say, such behaviour also brings probable criminals into the UAE.

ykakande@thenational.ae