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150 Chinese 'illegal immigrants' detained in Moscow

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-09 14:06

Russia's Federal Migration Service picked up 150 Chinese "illegal immigrants" from Moscow's Cherkizovsky Market Wednesday, according to media reports.

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Authorities said 50 of those detained had overstayed their visas and "must leave Russia at once", while the rest were asked to leave within 10 days.

A number of Chinese operate their businesses at the Cherkizovsky Market, situated in the east of Moscow, the Russian capital.

Local authorities had shut down the Cherkizovsky Market on June 29 after they found a "series of sanitary and storage violations".

The Information office of the Federal Migration Service said 80 Chinese have been banished from the country for protesting the shutdown. Police also detained some Chinese businessmen when they held demonstration on July 7.

It is estimated authorities seized US$5 billion worth of goods belonging to Chinese businessmen.

Chinese goods worth US$2 billion were seized from the Cherkizovsky Market on September 11 last year. The government on June 18 said it would destroy all those goods as they were "illegally smuggled into Russia".