KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 94 foreigners were detained in two separate Immigration operations in the Klang Valley.
In the first operation, the Immigration department detained 46 foreigners during a raid at a theme park near Bandar Sungai Long, Kajang, for working without valid permits.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the operation was conducted by the department’s enforcement division from Putrajaya on Aug 18 after two weeks of intelligence gathering and public complaints.
"A total of 35 officers were deployed to the site, where 123 individuals – 52 foreigners and 71 locals – were screened.
"From the checks, 46 foreigners comprising 31 Myanmar men, nine Myanmar women, two Indonesian men, three Bangladeshi men and one Thai woman, aged between 23 and 47 years old, were detained,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Aug 21).
Four witnesses were also issued summonses during the operation. "The detainees have been placed at the Immigration detention depot in Beranang for further investigations," he added.
In a separate series of raids on Aug 19, enforcement officers targeted a factory and a supermarket in Balakong and Puchong, starting at 11.45am, Zakaria said.
"A total of 64 individuals were inspected, of which 48 undocumented migrants – from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, India and Pakistan – aged between 18 and 49 years old, were detained.
"They were later sent to the Lenggeng Immigration depot," he said.
Some of the foreigners attempted to flee and hide during the raids but were successfully apprehended, Zakaria said.
"The operations were launched following reports of employers hiring undocumented workers at these locations.
"The foreigners are being investigated for offences under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155), as well as Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963.
"We will not compromise with foreigners who overstay, misuse passes or remain illegally in the country. Stern action will also be taken against those who hire or protect undocumented migrants,” he stressed.
