JOHOR BARU: The Johor Immigration Department arrested 76 individuals for staying and working in the country without proper documents in a raid carried out in three districts.
Its director Datuk Mohd Rusdi Mohd Darus said that the arrests were made in Mersing, Muar, and Johor Baru from Aug 5 to 7.
“The operation was carried out based on a public tip-off informing the department about illegal immigrants who are working and staying in the country without a permit.
“The raid was conducted under ‘Ops Sapu’, ‘Ops Bersama’, ‘Ops Mahir’, ‘Ops Belanja', and ‘Ops Selera’,” he said in a statement here Friday (Aug 9).
Mohd Rusdi added that eight Indonesian men were arrested in Mersing; while in Muar, the arrests consisted of four men from Bangladesh, six men from Myanmar, and two men and three women from Indonesia.
“In Johor Baru, we arrested 17 men from Bangladesh, three men and a woman from Indonesia, four men from Myanmar, 25 men and a woman from India, one man from Pakistan, and one man from Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that those arrested were aged between 20 and 54 years old.
The case is being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act of 1959/63 for entering the country without valid travel documents and overstaying.
It is also being investigated under Rule 17(b) and Rule 11(7)(a) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 for violating the requirement of their visit pass and for violating the social visit pass (PLS).
Several are also being investigated under Section 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations of 1963 for abuse of social visit passes.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated case, Mohd Rusdi shared that the department arrested 78 illegal immigrants during a raid on two electronic device factories in Johor Baru.
“The raid was conducted on Aug 8 based on a public tip-off.
“The arrests consisted of 68 women from Myanmar, six men and two women from China, a man from Nepal, and a woman from Indonesia, all aged between 19 and 58 years old,” he said.
A local man, aged 43, who worked as the factory manager, was also arrested to help with the investigation.
The case is being investigated under Section 56(1)(d) of the Immigration Act of 1959/63 for harbouring illegal immigrants, and Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act of 1959/63.
