Forty-five Nigerian citizens, 17 of whom will be deported, were arrested on Saturday in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district by immigration police following a request from Nigerian visa officials, according to authorities.

The General Department of Immigration’s investigations head, Uk Hai Sela, said the arrests took place at a church in Por Sen Chey and that the individuals detained were on a list of 60 people Nigerian authorities requested be investigated for potential passport irregularities.

“We have investigated for a while and after reviewing the documents and questioning, 20 Nigerians have legal passports and their documents are correct.

They will be released on Monday,” Hai Sela said, adding that eight others will be fined for overstaying their visas and that the Ministry of Interior is preparing to deport the remaining 17.

In the first 10 months of 2015, more than 60 Nigerians were arrested according to illegal immigration census figures. A total of 3,961 individuals have been deported so far this year, 90 per cent of them Vietnamese.