KUALA LUMPUR: More than 1,000 enforcement personnel conducted a massive screening operation on Jalan Silang here, a known gathering point for foreigners in the city.
The police, primarily General Operations Force (GOF) personnel, and other agencies raided four blocks of shops on Thursday (Dec 21) and cordoned off the area as they rounded up offenders.
The sudden and thorough sweep caught most people in the area by surprise.
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As of 1pm, some 500 foreigners had been detained for a number of offences, including not having proper travel and identification documents.
The operation was staged to curb illegal activities and screen businesses either owned by or employing foreigners to ensure their operations are legitimate.
It is learnt that some of the establishments targeted included a travel agency and makeshift clinic with unapproved medicines.
However, these premises were found unoccupied during the raid.
Some shophouses were found to have dirty, dilapidated makeshift workers' quarters on the second floor.
All those detained were brought to the Police Training Centre (Pulapol) here for further action.
