MOSCOW, December 5 (RAPSI) – The number of criminal cases opened in connection with illegal migration in Moscow has risen approximately 60 times compared to last year's figures, the Interior Ministry's press service reported.

According to report, 1,095 criminal cases were initiated over illegal migration in Moscow in 2013, compared to 19 cases opened last year.

City police chief Anatoly Yakunin said earlier that nearly 840 criminal cases were initiated against illegal migration organizers.

Over 2,000 offences connected with the organization of illegal migration have been uncovered in Russia in the past nine months, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev reported in October during the "government hour" in the State Duma. According to Kolokoltsev, the amount of crimes increased by a factor of three compared with a year earlier.

The amount of migration crimes terminated by police this year increased more than 1.5 times, he added.

At the end of October Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at the City Duma meeting that around 650 criminal cases over the organization of illegal immigration have been initiated in Moscow since the start of the year. As a comparison, less than 20 migration cases were opened last year, Sobyanin said.