2,550 illegals arrested by ROP in 8 months

Times News Service

MUSCAT: As many as 2,550 illegal immigrants were arrested in the first eight months of 2018, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) announced on Wednesday.

Some 3,141 infiltrators were deported during the same period.

Lt. Col. Ahmed Al Sarki, Director of Anti-infiltration Department at the ROP, said, “Oman gives great importance to preserving the identity of the Sultanate’s territory and protecting it from everything that compromises its security and stability.”

Law

He added that the Oman Residence Law regulates conditions for granting visas and residence permits, as well as the specific penalties for violating this law.

With regard to infiltration and smuggling, Al Sarkhi said that these phenomena have negative effects on the security level through the difficulty of access to the perpetrators of crimes and the smuggling of narcotics to the Sultanate, which leads to a wider spread and economic dimensions, as they are a big burden on the economy.

“These illegal immigrants are competing illegally for employment, and some others may intimidate people and abuse their property,” he explained.

He stressed that the ROP, in cooperation with other authorities, controls the Omani maritime territories as land borders and monitors the movement of smugglers and infiltrators as they attempt to enter the country.

Awareness

“The campaigns carried out by the ROP in cooperation with the Ministry of Manpower have contributed to the control of a large numbers of violators of the labour and residence laws, pointing out that the awareness of the community over the risks of operating and harbouring infiltrators have led to the arrest of large numbers of them,” he further said.

In order to ensure the safety, dignity and rights of the infiltrators, Al Sarki said that infiltrators are being held in equipped centres and being provided with food, drink and medical treatment until they leave the country and are tried and deported in accordance with the international conventions and standards governing this aspect.