Scores held, fake firms busted – Surprise raids held across Kuwait

KUWAIT: Police round up hundreds of residency violators in Bneid Al-Gar after a surprise raid. – Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: A flash raid was carried out by the Ministry of Interior against residency violators and wanted criminals in all governorates of Kuwait yesterday, especially in areas with a high percentage of marginal laborers. The campaign began early morning yesterday with the participation of security chiefs, the traffic department, the criminal investigations department, special forces and medical emergency teams in Bneid Al-Gar. The campaign resulted in the arrest of 2,136 people, some of whom were wanted for different cases including residency violations and crimes like theft and drug peddling.

Security officials said the campaign will continue in all governorates against all residency violators and criminals. Security sources said that a majority of residency violators are Article 20 domestic workers who were brought to Kuwait by unscrupulous sponsors who abandoned them on the streets to work for others without reporting them as absconding. The sources said such sponsors will be held liable as per the law. They added that security and safety of the public is the main concern in all governorates.

Meanwhile, inspectors from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor also launched a surprise inspection campaign yesterday in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh and Farwaniya that resulted in exposing a large number of fake companies. Assistant undersecretary for labor affairs Jamal Al-Doussari said the fake companies were rented offices without any staff working in them. He added that such offices are rented for certain periods in an attempt to circumvent the law until worker are brought from abroad. The “companies’ are then closed and open only for inspections. “More raids will be conducted all over Kuwait and all legal actions will be taken against violators,” Doussari said, calling for closing down the violating companies’ dossiers with the ministry. He added the government will prevent violating companies from having any work permits issued for them unless they can prove that the workers actually work for them.

By Hanan Al-Saadoun, Staff Writer

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