Russia: 1,200 Vietnamese in raid of workshops
Moscow police detain 1,200 Vietnamese alleged to be in country illegally
7/31/2013MOSCOW — Police in Russia’s capital say they have detained 1,200 Vietnamese who are in the country illegally during a pre-dawn raid on a complex of small workshops.
A statement from the Interior Ministry said today's operation found workers and their families living in unsanitary conditions. The statement did not say if they would be deported.
The detentions follow a series of sweeps of Moscow markets where hundreds of people were detained on suspicion of being in the country illegally.
Those raids followed a weekend clash at a Moscow market in which a crowd attacked police who were trying to arrest a suspected sex offender. One policeman suffered a fractured skull.
Police say the raids are aimed at stifling crime in Moscow’s markets, where many workers are migrants.