Law enforcement officials in Moscow apprehended more than 500 migrants during operations at hostels and mosques in the southeastern part of the city, authorities reported on Tuesday.
The Moscow division of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which investigates serious offenses, stated that the purpose of the raids was to “identify and combat illegal migration networks.”
A video released by the law enforcement agency depicted numerous men lined up inside a building, who were then escorted into a police vehicle.
Authorities indicated that over 30 foreign nationals were either deported or faced administrative charges. Additionally, one individual was found to be on Russia’s federal wanted list.
Moreover, the military branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee issued a separate statement explaining that the operations focused on naturalized citizens who had not registered for military service after obtaining their Russian citizenship.
“More than 2,500 individuals were checked during the operations,” senior military investigator Oleg Vlasov told state media while addressing a crowd of detainees.
Vlasov noted that 40 naturalized Russian citizens were summoned to military enlistment offices, and 170 others were taken to police stations due to immigration infractions.
These Moscow operations followed similar large-scale detentions that recently occurred in the Kaliningrad and Smolensk regions, as reported by state media.
