Police have arrested 35 suspected illegal workers and 18 employers or people in charge of workplaces in a joint crackdown with the Labour Department and the Immigration Department.

The law-enforcement departments raided 78 suspected spots including retail shops, eating places, interior-decoration sites, hair salons and foot-massage shops in 12 operations throughout Hong Kong.

In 2006, 108 employers were handed prison sentences for employing illegal workers. First-time offenders are sentenced to three months' imprisonment.

Among the 35 suspected illegal workers arrested in March, three were overstayers, one could not produce any proof of identity and the rest were mostly two-way permit holders from the Mainland.

The illegal workers were found mainly working as retail sales assistants, waiters, and restaurant kitchen helpers or cleaners.

In the first three months this year, the Labour Department participated in 45 joint operations with other enforcement departments. It pledges to stamp out illegal employment to safeguard local workers' job opportunities.

The department urges people to report illegal employment activities through its hotline, 2815 2200. All information provided will be handled in strict confidence.