The police, with the assistance of the Detention Services, have continued their work with raids linked to irregular immigration, the Ministry for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality said in a statement.

The work continued early on Saturday morning after several inspections were being carried out in both Malta and in Gozo in the last few weeks.

The inspections were carried out in Bugibba and St Paul's Bay where the police spoke to several people of different nationalities. The inspections were carried out on the streets, at bus stops as well as in residences where persons of foreign nationalities were living, the statement read.

The police checked in their searches if the individuals were in possession of valid documents to live in the country.

The police arrested people who were living in Malta without the necessary documentation, those with expired documentation or in an irregular manner. The process for these people to be removed from the country will begin immediately.

These operations are often part of a series of initiatives designed to fight against irregular immigration as part of a strategy built on prevention, return and relocation, the statement read.

The statement said that initiatives like this sends a clear message that one must observe the laws of the country, including in the way one should enter it.