Police are increasing efforts to stop illegal migration, after new reports showed that people are leaving Lebanon and heading to Cyprus in search of work.

The aliens and immigration service has received information that several migrants have been found carrying documents naming specific employers in restaurants, hotels, taverns and farms. These documents suggest they were planning to start work as soon as they arrived. Officials say this is not random migration. The documents often include the name and address of the business where the person is meant to be employed. Sources in Lebanon have confirmed that many of those stopped at sea clearly state that Cyprus is their destination, and that they are coming to work, not to seek asylum or escape war.

In response, the head of the police has ordered more checks on businesses that may be hiring migrants without permission. The plan is to arrest anyone working without the correct papers and to report the employers involved. Last Saturday, a large operation took place across the island. Officers found 51 migrants, most of them from Syria and some from Asian countries. They were in Cyprus without legal documents. Steps are now being taken to return them to their home countries.

Police say these checks will continue and may become more frequent. They believe that many of the migrants were told about job openings by family members already living in Cyprus, who also helped them find employers before they made the journey.

Joint inspections are being planned with the deputy ministry of migration, labour ministry inspectors and police officers. These checks will focus on places where illegal workers might be hired, in an effort to stop both illegal employment and migration. Authorities say they are targeting the networks behind this type of organised migration, which appears to be growing.