NEW DELHI: In a major crackdown on drug trafficking and illegal stay of foreign nationals in the national capital, the Delhi Police has apprehended 260 foreign nationals, officials said on Monday.
The operation, “Clean Sweep,” was conducted on Sunday across the Dwarka, West, and Outer districts. Document verification and registration of cases are underway. Over 25 house owners have been identified, and cases are being registered against them under relevant legal provisions, officials added.
“To crack down on illegally staying foreign nationals and contain related unlawful activities, 31 teams comprising over 600 police personnel were deployed under the supervision of DCP Dwarka Ankit Singh, DCP West Darade Sharad Bhaskar, and DCP Outer Sachin Sharma,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Western Range) Jatin Narwal.
“During the exercise, 183 foreigners from 10 African countries, including 48 women, were found living illegally and apprehended from various locations in the western range. Of them, 160 were caught by Dwarka district, 14 by West, and nine by Outer district,” he said.
Police said several African nationals were found overstaying with expired visas. During searches, drugs were recovered from one foreign national, and legal action was initiated. In another case, a non-bailable warrant (NBW) was found pending against a foreigner, who was subsequently arrested.
Legal action has also been taken against house owners who rented properties to foreigners staying illegally. Of the detained foreigners, 75 have previous FIRs and are currently out on bail, police said.
Verification of documents and searches of rented premises are ongoing. Deportation proceedings against 183 illegally staying foreigners of various nationalities are in process, and they are being handed over to the FRRO. Police said the drive will continue periodically and urged landlords to mandatorily fill Form-II under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, for every foreign national staying, even for a single day.