KUALA LUMPUR: The authorities raided 225 residences and commercial units in Selayang Utara near here Thursday (May 29) night in Ops Kachi, to screen for undocumented migrants.
Deputy director for the General Operations Force (GOF) of Bukit Aman’s Internal Security and Public Order Department, Deputy Comm Datuk Mohamad Suzrin Mohamad Rodhi, said 1,435 people were screened during the integrated operation, which began at 10.45pm and ended at 6am Friday (May 30).
"Myanmar nationals made up the highest number at 1,222, including 160 children, while the rest comprised citizens of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Indonesia,” he told a press conference after the operation.
DCP Suzrin said the majority of those screened are workers at Selayang Wholesale Market and nearby businesses.
He said some of them held United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards and were referred to the Immigration Department to verify the authenticity of the cards.
He added that some individuals were also found to have committed offences under laws enforced by the Immigration Department, the Energy Commission, the National Water Services Commission (SPAN), and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
"The offences included overstaying, lack of valid travel documents, electricity metres tampering, illegal water connections, and operating businesses without licences,” he said.
Some of the accommodations raided had been illegally modified with unauthorised utility connections to house a large number of occupants.
According to DCP Suzrin, the raids were conducted in response to complaints regarding the large number of suspected undocumented migrants in the area.
Coordinated by the police, the operation also involved Immigration, DBKL, the Energy Commission, SPAN, the Malaysian Civil Defence Force, St John Ambulance of Malaysia, and Tenaga Nasional Berhad, with a total of 560 personnel.
The exact number of those detained in the operation was not immediately available. – Bernama
