Law enforcement authorities in Moscow detained over 500 migrants during raids on hostels and mosques in the city’s southeast, authorities said Tuesday.
The Moscow branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said the raids were aimed at “uncovering and combating channels of illegal migration.”
A video released by the law enforcement agency showed dozens of men lined up inside a building, after which they were led into a police van.
Authorities said more than 30 foreign citizens were deported or charged with administrative offenses. One person was on Russia’s federal wanted list, they added.
The military division of Russia’s Investigative Committee issued a separate statement saying the raids targeted naturalized citizens who failed to register for military service after receiving a Russian passport.
“More than 2,500 people were checked during the raids,” senior military investigator Oleg Vlasov told state media as he stood in front of dozens of detainees.
Vlasov said 40 naturalized Russian citizens were summoned to military enlistment offices, while 170 others were sent to police stations over immigration violations.
The Moscow raids followed similar mass detentions in the Kaliningrad and Smolensk regions in recent days, according to state media.
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