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Some 1,600 illegal migrants detained in market raids across Russia

More than 5,500 different facts of law infringement have been revealed during the operation
Photo ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Pochuev
Photo ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Pochuev

MOSCOW, August 19 (Itar-Tass) - Police have carried out more than 2,100 market raids across Russia in a campaign to fight illegal migration and reveal corruption in controlling and supervising agencies.

About 1,600 violators of migration legislation have been detained in these raids, the press service of the Interior Ministry’s Internal Security Directorate said on Monday.

It said “more than 5,500 different facts of law infringement have been revealed during the operation, including 400 involving the entrepreneurship activity”.

The directorate stressed that reports of citizens about the violation of trade rules and possible corruption manifestations by executive authorities and police were being thoroughly checked.

In particular, in Surgut (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region) an attempt to lobby the interests of the owner of a selling spot by a local policeman was exposed in an operation to seize alcohol sold with violations of the administrative legislation.

In another development in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region, an acting head of a police department was attempting to take a bribe from an illegal immigrant for not bringing him to administrative responsibility.

A fact of trading in counterfeit goods was revealed at a central market in the Tambov region. It was established that police had already checked the market, but hushed the fact. Checks are now made into the activity of the local police leadership.