Security forces have arrested more than 30,700 expats in the Eastern Province for violating residency and labor regulations, said Col. Ziyad Al-Roqaiti, spokesman of police in the region on Sunday.

“We have handed over these expats to deten- tion centers in the province,” he said, adding that security forces would continue their efforts to track down illegal workers by carrying out an intensive campaign.

“We’ll also raid the hideouts of such illegal aliens. Such raids are carried out on the basis of information we receive from reliable sources,” the spokesman said.

He said last week alone, police had nabbed 2,092 illegal expats. “This has brought the total number of such illegals to 30,727 in the region,” he added.