The Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) on Thursday announced that it has arrested 60 Vietnamese sewing workers without visas in Moscow, Vietnam News Agency reported.

 

The workers, who were found working at a house on Novodmitrov Street without proper hygiene and working conditions, claimed that their visas were lost.

 

FMS said they detainees did not speak any Russian and were working for a factory that imitates world famous brands, especially in sports apparel.

 

They are working with local police to find the factory’s owner, FMS said.

 

Usually, illegal Vietnamese workers are kept in custody for a couple of days and released after paying fines of about 5,000 rubles (US$180) each, the VNA report said.

 

The workers are only deported when they are found repeating violations or committing crimes, it added.

 

Meanwhile, people who illegally employ workers are fined up to 800,000 rubles ($28,656) per worker and sometimes face jail terms.

 

Early this month about 500 Vietnamese workers of a sewing factory were also arrested in the suburbs of Moscow. Most of them were released later after paying fines, the report said.