KUALA LUMPUR: Police have rescued 16 people, including teenagers, believed to be victims of forced labour in a series of raids in the the Klang Valley, conducted by Bukit Aman's anti-trafficking in persons and anti-smuggling of migrants unit under Ops Pintas Mega.
Bukit Aman D3 chief SAC Soffian Santong said five teenage boys – four from Myanmar and one from Indonesia aged 16 to 17 – were rescued in the first raid just after midnight on Thursday (May 8) at a restaurant in Bandar Tasik Puteri, Rawang.
Two men – a 29-year-old Malaysian employer and a 26-year-old Indian national supervisor –were arrested and both are being investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
Police also detained 20 other foreign workers from India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Indonesia, for suspected immigration offences.
Eight men – a local and seven Bangladeshis aged from 35 and 51 – were rescued in the second raid at 11.30am at a construction site in Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur.
Soffian said two Bangladeshi men acting as supervisors were arrested and 17 others were detained under the Immigration Act.
"Later in the day, police raided two car workshops in Puchong Utama and rescued three teenage boys aged 14 to 17, including one from Myanmar, " he added.
Two local men believed to be the workshop owners were arrested and two Myanmar nationals working there were detained for immigration offences.
All rescued victims were taken to police stations in Gombak, Brickfields and Subang Jaya.
The joint operation also involved the Home Ministry, Immigration Department, Labour Department, Maritime Enforcement Agency and the National Anti-Trafficking Council. – Bernama
