139 illegals nabbed in raids on shopping complexes

KUALA LUMPUR: Enforcement officers raided three shopping complexes along Jalan Dang Wangi here, a hotspot for foreign traders, catching over 130 illegals in a 90-minute operation.

A total of 400 foreigners were checked during the raids yesterday, which were part of the Ops Mega operations carried out by the Immigration Department, its director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said.

“I advise all employers to come forward while the illegal immigrant voluntary surrender (3+1) programme is still running,” he said, adding that the programme would end on Aug 30.

He said on Aug 31, his department would not entertain any individuals who wished to surrender and would detain them immediately.

“We arrested 139 of those checked for various offences, including not complying with the conditions of their passes, not carrying their passports and not having valid documents.

“The raids are part of our Ops Mega operations, which began on July 1. Since then, we have held 8,217 operations and checked 100,710 foreigners nationwide,” he told repor­ters here on Tuesday.

Mustafar said 24,463 illegal immigrants were detained in those raids, while 635 employers were arrested for employing illegal immigrants.

He added that those employers had been hard-headed and insisted on hiring illegals because they were cheaper.

“Some employers associations have complained to me that it is difficult to find foreign workers legally.

“I stand my ground. It is not difficult if you go about it the legal way,” he said.

Mustafar said his department was also concerned about overcrowding at the Immig­ration Detention Depots nationwide and had taken steps to deport those found guilty of immigration offences.

“We have deported at least 26,000 illegal immigrants this year,” he added.