Thirty-nine Vietnamese illegally living and working in Anhui Province have been transferred to border defense authorities, local authorities said yesterday.

This month, police found the illegal migrants working at Xiecheng Metal Products Co Ltd in the city of Wuhu, said Hu Changyin, in charge of foreign affairs with the city's public security bureau.

The 39, including two women, were introduced by a job agent to the company to manufacture molds, Hu said.

The public security bureau detained the Vietnamese, most of them born after 1990. They were transferred to the Dongxing port border defense checkpoint in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the Vietnamese border, Hu said, after the case was reported to the Ministry of Public Security.

The company's chief executive has been detained by local police, he added.

In recent years, agents have drawn labor from neighboring countries to work illegally in China as wages have risen for local workers, said Hu. The illegal labor puts social stability at risk, he said.

A month ago, Vice Minister of Public Security Yang Huanning vowed to crack down on foreigners illegally entering, living or working in China. Yang announced the move in a report on the entry-exit administration, residence and employment of foreigners to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislative body.

Yang said measures will include improving visa policy, strengthening border control, repatriating illegal aliens and setting up repatriation locations in areas with large numbers of such foreigners. He said illegal workers, often from nearby countries, typically find jobs in language training, housekeeping and other labor-intensive industries.

Beijing on May 15 launched a high-profile crackdown on foreigners illegally entering, residing or working in the city in order to maintain public safety, officials said.