UAE authorities arrested in 24 hours 99 infiltrators of various nationalities, while they were trying to enter the country illegally, reported the official WAM news agency on Sunday.
The aliens have been detained pending trial, it said.
Meanwhile, an interior ministry's report has said that the number of Indians who illegally enter and stay in the UAE is likely to increase in the coming period, according to the Dubai-based Gulf News.
The ministry called for tougher penalties for those who help or provide shelter to illegal immigrants.
According the report, 12,370 illegal entry and residence crimes were reported last year. Of these, 546 cases were of working with an employer other than the legal sponsor, 7,668 cases of overstay in the country after the end of the visit visa, 1,743 illegal entry crimes, 144 cases of return to the country after deportation, 16 crimes of helping illegals, 84 forgeries of entry and residence permits, 475 failures to employ sponsored workers.
Under UAE residency laws, an illegal immigrant will be imprisoned for at least a month and fined not less than Dh1,000.
Boat captains and drivers of any other transport means who bring in illegals or even attempt to do so face up to 15 years in jail and a fine of between Dh5,000 and 100,000 for each illegal entrant, said the paper.
The same penalty applies to those who guide or lead an illegal immigrant into the country.
The report put the illegal entry crimes committed in Abu Dhabi at 2,830, Dubai 22, Sharjah 928 , Ajman 5,309 , Umm Al Quwain 271 , Ras Al Khaimah 1,714 and Fujairah 1,296, according to the paper – Albawaba.com.
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
