JOHOR BARU: Almost 200 people, including 177 foreigners, have been arrested in a series of raids in a three-day operation around Johor Baru, Iskandar Puteri and Seri Alam.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar said the operation, codenamed Ops Noda, was conducted between Friday (Dec 6) and Sunday (Dec 8) and involved 68 policemen, including 14 officers.
“Six entertainment outlets were raided during the operation, which targeted vice activities, such as prostitution, guest relation officer (GRO) and gangs.
“The raids led to the arrest of 189 people. Of them, 161 are foreign women, 16 are foreign men, 11 are local men, and one is a local woman,” he said in a statement here on Monday (Dec 9).
He added that urine tests conducted on the suspects, who are between 18 and 63 years old, also found that 28 were positive for drugs.
“We also have seized various equipment, including mobile phones, payment receipts, microphones, speakers, mixers, televisions, MP3 players, DVDs, amplifiers, remote controls, sashes, and RM2,510 in cash,” he said.
In a separate raid, the police have arrested another 14 people, including seven foreigners, for illegal gambling and seized RM83,000 worth of cash and gambling equipment, said Comm Kumar.
He said the suspects arrested in the raids are being investigated for various offences, including Sections 6(2) of the Johor Entertainment and Entertainment Places Enactment (ENJ) 4/98 for operating businesses without valid entertainment licence and Section 11(2) of the same Enactment for violating license conditions.
The cases are also being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and Immigration Regulations 1963 for misuse of social visit visas and overstaying, as well as the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 and Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
