PETALING JAYA: A total of 1,368 illegal immigrants were arrested after a raid by the Immigration Department around the Kuala Lumpur Wholesale Market area on Monday (May 11).
Immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said, in a statement Tuesday (May 12), that the authorities had inspected the documents of 7,551 foreigners during the operation.
"The operation began at around 6.30am and was conducted in all the areas under the enhanced movement control order (MCO) in the area," he said.
Of those arrested, a majority were found to be from Myanmar, with the department arresting 790 of them. Some 421 Indonesians were also among those detained.
Numbers released by the department showed that off the 1,368 detained, 261 were women while 98 were children.
"All foreigners inspected and illegal immigrants arrested have been confirmed to have tested negative for Covid-19 by the Health Ministry.
"Among the offences found were having no identification papers, overstaying, having fake permits and passes, and other offences under the Immigration Act.
"They will be deported back to their country of origin after undergoing their sentence and will be blacklisted from entering Malaysia for good," he said.
On Monday, members of the media at the scene were not allowed to get closer to the operation area due to the enhanced MCO still in place.
City police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim, in a brief message then, said that the police were present at the location to assist Immigration officers.
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