PETALING JAYA: Eight foreigners, believed to be victims of forced labour have been rescued by the Immigration Department after conducting a series of raids in the Klang Valley.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the victims were rescued in 11 raids around the Klang Valley, including three in Seri Kembangan, on April 15.
In one of the raids, four Indonesian women were rescued while two local women who acted as agents were detained.
"In the second raid, the team rescued another four Indonesian women and also arrested two Yemeni men and two Indonesian women believed to be illegal agents" he said in a statement on Friday (April 17).
Zakaria said 10 Indonesian men and eight Indonesian women were nabbed at other locations for not possessing valid passes to stay in the country.
Investigations showed that the agents were exploiting the victims to work as domestic helpers.
"The team seized 21 Indonesian passports, seven phones and various documents which were agreements between the agents and employers," he said.
He added a local man believed to be the transporter for the syndicate was also arrested and a vehicle was also seized.
"The syndicate's modus operandi was to promise jobs to Indonesians who did not possess valid work passes. The syndicate also deceived employers by offering to manage the workers to obtain work passes," he said, adding that employers paid between RM4,500 and RM6,000 for each domestic helper.
The syndicate is believed to have been operating for about a year.
"All rescued victims will be placed in a shelter.
"Two men and three women were also issued notices to appear at the Immigration headquarters over the investigation," he said.
