Police detain 34 people in immigration inspections on buses, public spaces
Inspections were held in Blata l-Bajda and Rabat
Thirty-four people were detained on Friday morning after they were allegedly found to be living in Malta in breach of immigration laws, police said.
The operation was carried out by the police, assisted by officers from the Detention Services Agency.
Inspections were held on public transport and in public spaces in Blata l-Bajda and Rabat.
Those detained are from Nigeria, India, Ghana, The Gambia, Senegal and Ivory Coast, police said.
They are being held at a detention centre while arrangements are made for them to be relocated to their country of origin or another country where they are permitted to reside.
Police said the operation, which targets breaches of the Immigration Act, abuse of laws and illegal employment, will continue in the coming days and weeks.
Meanwhile, in recent days, two men who had been living in Malta irregularly were returned to their country of origin in East Africa.
The Principal Immigration Officer issued removal and return orders against the two men, as well as a ban preventing them from re-entering the Schengen Area.
The men had been held at a detention centre under the supervision of the Detention Services Agency until the return process was completed.
The latest immigration raids come after the practice of public transport inspections came under fire from human rights NGOs in recent days, saying they amounted to racial profiling.
A Maltese passenger who witnessed one such inspection in Marsa last week described what they saw as humiliating.
The passenger said that during the inspection, Maltese passengers were told to keep their identity cards away, while officers allegedly singling out people who “looked like” third-country nationals (TCNs).
The inspection resulted in four passengers being handcuffed with cable ties and loaded into a detention van.
The Home Affairs Ministry has strongly defended the raids, insisting they are lawful, routine and based on objective intelligence rather than race or ethnicity.