Cross-department operation in East Kowloon nets 17 over illegal labor

A multi-department operation in East Kowloon from Thursday night to Friday afternoon has resulted in the arrest of 17 people, including illegal workers from the mainland and Indonesia, aged between 35 and 88.

The operation involved about 260 personnel from the police, Immigration Department, Labour Department, Customs and Excise Department, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Buildings Department and Lands Department.

At one restaurant, a mainland Chinese woman and an Indonesian man were arrested for allegedly working in violation of their conditions of stay. The 40-year-old male restaurant owner was also arrested for allegedly employing illegal workers.

A 47-year-old Indonesian woman was arrested at a beauty salon on similar suspicions of breaching her stay conditions. Another 14 individuals were arrested for allegedly making false statements to immigration officers.