THERE has been a sharp increase in the number of illegal immigrants arrested in the Karas Region.

Police Deputy Commissioner Rudolf Isaak on Thursday reported that 30 illegal immigrants had been arrested at the Keetmanshoop police roadblock since the start of the past festive season.

Among the foreign nationals arrested for entering Namibia illegally were Ethiopian (1), Canadian (1), Zimbabweans (10), South Africans (5), Somalis (4), Angolans (5), Nigerians (2) and Zambian (1).

Most of them were arrested for overstaying while others could not produce valid travel documents.

A Namibian was also arrested for not being able to show identification, but was later released when he produced the document.

Isaak attributed the increased arrests of illegal immigrants to the smarter manner in which police and immigration officers performed their duties at the roadblock.

Although he could not give comparative statistics, Isaak said there was a surge in the number of illegal immigrants compared to previous years.