KUALA LUMPUR: Eight Indonesians were detained and a foreign woman was rescued from exploitation in an anti-human trafficking operation in Ampang.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the operation was conducted at about 4.52pm on Wednesday (March 19).
"We detained an Indonesian woman who was the syndicate's transporter and two Indonesian men after stopping a car in Ampang. The two men had just arrived in Malaysia via illegal means.
"Four other men and a woman from Indonesia were also detained at a parking lot nearby. They were in the midst of leaving the country illegally," he said in a statement on Friday (March 21).
Investigations also led to a house used as a transit home, where a frail foreign woman was rescued.
"We believe she was sent to the illegal agents by her employer to be sent back to her home country.
"We also seized several passports at the premises," he added.
Zakaria said the syndicate offered services to bring foreigners into Malaysia and send them back to their home country illegally, charging RM4,500 per person.
"The illegal agents are Indonesians, and their customers are picked up around Johor and Negri Sembilan."
The operation utilized methods to identify potential human trafficking victims among vulnerable groups, following the National Guideline on Human Trafficking Indicators (NGHTI) 2.0.
"We are also looking at offences under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007 (Act 670)," he added.
