Immigration detains 36 undocumented foreigners at Terminal Bas Bersepadu

KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department detained 36 undocumented foreigners in an operation at the Terminal Bas Bersepadu (TBS) here.

Department director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said 32 foreign men and four foreign women were detained in the operation at about 4.30pm on Aug 30.

"The foreigners arrived in Kuala Lumpur by boarding express buses from Kota Baru, Kelantan. We believe they had entered the country illegally," he said in a statement on Sunday (Sept 3).

He said the team that conducted the raid had trailed three express buses from the east coast of the Peninsular all the way to TBS.

"Once all passengers had disembarked from the buses, the raiding team moved in. 20 Bangladeshi men along with 12 men and four women from Myanmar aged between 19 and 45 were detained," he said.

Further checks on the passports of some of the foreigners revealed that they were not stamped while others did not even have any valid travel documents, Ruslin said.

"There were also those who have been blacklisted due to prior offences," he added.

Ruslin said the syndicate responsible had smuggled the foreigners into Malaysia via a neighbouring country, adding that they would then be transported via public transport to Penang and Kuala Lumpur to work illegally.

"Each foreigner is required to pay the syndicate RM10,000 to enter the country. Those detained are being held at the Immigration depot in Semenyih," he said.