RSS 2.0 FeedJune 2010 vol 17, National News
Zimbabwe deports scores of foreigners
Harare, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe said Sunday it had deported 87 foreigners, mostly Asians and West Africans, involved in dubious businesses and for entering and staying in the country illegally.
The foreigners were arrested in a joint swoop by police and immigration officers in the capital Harare over the last few days.
'We have deported foreigners from Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, China, Pakistan, Mali, Ethiopia, Britain, Zambia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo,' Evans Siziba, a top immigration official, said.
'There has been an influx of foreigners entering the country illegally since the World Cup (in South Africa) kicked off on June 11,' he said.
Some of those deported were involved in illegal gold and diamond mining, as well as drugs, officials said.
It is the largest group of foreigners to be arrested and deported from Zimbabwe.
