Manama: Bahrain has deported over 5,000 illegal foreign workers since the start of the current year as authorities have intensified inspection campaigns. As many as 2,391 illegal workers have been deported from July till September 2013, Xinhua reported citing an official from the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs on Sunday. "The total number of expatriates who were deported in the nine months of 2013 reached 5,232 males and females," the official said in a statement. He added the department of exits, search and follow-up is working in tandem with different government bodies to intensify inspections in an effort to tackle the problem of illegal workers.

According to Bahrain's Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), which maintains a database of all foreign workers, there are 52,000 expatriates living in Bahrain without proper paperwork. There are around 290,000 expatriate Indians in Bahrain and many of them work as blue collar workers. A 30-member squad is presently working with LMRA in cracking down on illegal foreign workers.