GUANGZHOU, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Police in south China's Guangdong Province said Monday that they had captured more than 2,000 migrants who illegally crossed the border this year, up 47 percent year on year.

The police handled more than 120 illegal immigration cases in collaboration with counterparts in neighboring regions, up 20 percent compared with the same period last year, according to Jiang Mingxiang, deputy chief of the province's border police.

"Over 1,800 of the illegal migrants were foreigners, mostly from Southeast Asian countries," Jiang said, adding that they attempted to sneak into coastal areas of Guangdong or Hong Kong to work.

"Most foreign stowaways are young or middle-aged people who attempted to seek jobs in factories in the Pearl River Delta or western Guangdong," said Sun Huiyuan, another border police officer.

"Most of the factories are labor-intensive plants that feel the pressure to cut labor costs amid a labor shortage," said Sun.

"The main purpose of the illegal workers is to earn money, but they could also commit crimes such as theft, robbery and drug trafficking to disrupt border management and social order," said Zhao Quanhong, another senior official with the province's border police.

The human smuggling rings were highly organized, with foreign brokers recruiting immigrants and their Chinese accomplices transferring and securing jobs for them.

In one case, Guangdong and Guangxi police busted a gang helping Southeast Asians illegally work in the two regions, capturing eight brokers, two factory managers and over 80 illegal migrants.

Local border police have stepped up cooperation with counterparts in Hong Kong, Macao and several other neighboring regions in cracking down on human trafficking.

Border areas between Southeast Asian countries and China's Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan lack natural barriers to fend off illegal immigrants, Jiang said, pledging more crackdowns to safeguard public security.

GUANGZHOU, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Police in south China's Guangdong Province said Monday that they had captured more than 2,000 migrants who illegally crossed the border this year, up 47 percent year on year.

The police handled more than 120 illegal immigration cases in collaboration with counterparts in neighboring regions, up 20 percent compared with the same period last year, according to Jiang Mingxiang, deputy chief of the province's border police.

"Over 1,800 of the illegal migrants were foreigners, mostly from Southeast Asian countries," Jiang said, adding that they attempted to sneak into coastal areas of Guangdong or Hong Kong to work.

"Most foreign stowaways are young or middle-aged people who attempted to seek jobs in factories in the Pearl River Delta or western Guangdong," said Sun Huiyuan, another border police officer.

"Most of the factories are labor-intensive plants that feel the pressure to cut labor costs amid a labor shortage," said Sun.

"The main purpose of the illegal workers is to earn money, but they could also commit crimes such as theft, robbery and drug trafficking to disrupt border management and social order," said Zhao Quanhong, another senior official with the province's border police.

The human smuggling rings were highly organized, with foreign brokers recruiting immigrants and their Chinese accomplices transferring and securing jobs for them.

In one case, Guangdong and Guangxi police busted a gang helping Southeast Asians illegally work in the two regions, capturing eight brokers, two factory managers and over 80 illegal migrants.

Local border police have stepped up cooperation with counterparts in Hong Kong, Macao and several other neighboring regions in cracking down on human trafficking.

Border areas between Southeast Asian countries and China's Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan lack natural barriers to fend off illegal immigrants, Jiang said, pledging more crackdowns to safeguard public security.