Sixteen men arrested in illegal resident sweep, police say

They were sharing single room in Al Nabba area, according to police.

SHARJAH // Sixteen illegal residents were arrested after officers found them sharing a single room in Al Nabba area, police said today.

The people arrested were all from Bangladesh, ages 22 to 34, officials said.

Police were acting on a tip from a resident, who had seen several men entering and leaving a single one-room flat in the area.

"After ascertaining the validity of the information, we raided the flat at night and found the men, most of them absconders from their sponsors, being bossed by another man called Bala," a police spokesman said. "The illegals had all resorted to gambling as source of income, handing over most of their earnings to Bala."

They would put up tables in popular places and call people over to play cards or other gambling games, the spokesman said. Police also found that most of them had been involved in fights reported to police.

Four men did not have any identification papers at all, he added.

All have been referred to public prosecutors. Police are urging landlords not to rent out their properties to illegal residents.