DUSHANBE, August 15, 2008, Asia-Plus -- Migration service within the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has launched special raids in the country ahead of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation (SCO) to expose illegal immigrants. 

The source at the MoI migration service told Asia-Plus today that over the past two weeks, seven foreign citizens have been detained for violation of Tajikistan’s migration legislation and they are subject to deportation from the country.  

According to him, the migration service officers are currently checking registration of foreign citizens and legality of their staying in the country.  The raids will run through August 20, the source said.      

During the raids, they have also revealed 46 Tajik nationals that violated Tajikistan’s migration legislation.  “These persons did not have permission for recruiting foreign manpower,” the source noted.  

According to the MoI migration service, 7,700 foreign citizens have been officially registered in Tajikistan.  The majority of them are citizens of China.