Some 186 people have been arrested in a joint operation against illegal immigration by Police and the Immigration and Labour Departments.

During the 24-hour operation that ended at 5am today, Police stepped up their identification spot checks and 77 people were found to be breaching their condition of stay. Nineteen more suspected illegal immigrants were arrested.

Immigration officers conducted identity checks on 176 people and 48 were arrested for breaching immigration regulations.

Inspectors also visited 1,094 workplaces to check that employers kept proper records of their employees. Among the 1,779 employees checked for proof of identity, 30 were suspected to have contravened their conditions of stay.