Eleven illegal workers and two local employers have been arrested in a Hong Kong-wide operation.

Immigration officers raided 29 premises in Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Hung Hom, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Jordan, Cheung Sha Wan and Kowloon City.

Some 130 identity checks were conducted and 10 men and a woman, all Mainlanders aged 25 to 38, were arrested for breaching their conditions of stay. Most were from Guangdong.

Two men, aged 35 and 45, suspected of employing illegal workers, were also arrested.

Visitors are not allowed to work, paid or unpaid, without the prior permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to a $50,000 fine and two years prison. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalty.

It is also an offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is a $350,000 fine and three years prison.