The central food market in the Daghestani capital of Makhachkala has been temporarily closed by the authorities, as police conduct an inspection to find illegal workers.

Market No. 2, where vendors sell food and household items, is located in the centre of Makhachkala. According to eyewitnesses, the road leading to the market is now blocked.

‘I came to the market to buy food, but the entrances have been closed from different sides. I parked my car and approached a riot police officer, who was standing not far from the market. He said there was nothing for me to do there now’, Yana Martirosova, a resident of Makhachkala told OC Media.

A source in one of Daghestan’s law enforcement agencies told OC Media that the police were looking for illegal immigrants.

‘Law enforcement officers conducted a raid to identify illegal immigrants. Several people have been detained and they’re being checked in all our databases. In general, almost all of them are Azerbaijani citizens’, the source said.

In mid-February, 200 Azerbaijani citizens were detained by the authorities in the city of Derbent. Twenty-eight people were released, while 172 had no valid work permits. The court ruled that 33 of them had to leave Russia.