Eight out of the 21 people arrested for illegally residing on the island during a nationwide sweep over the weekend were found in Paphos, police said on Monday.

During the operation carried out by members of the aliens and immigration service from 6am to 12pm, a total of 21 persons were identified and arrested.

Of them, eight were found in the Paphos district, Cyprus News Agency reported.

Those have been detained with a view to their deportation.

Paphos CID chief and police spokesman Michalis Nicolaou said the arrests were made after officers checked a total of 38 people.