KLANG: 270 undocumented foreign workers have been detained for immigration offences after a special immigration operation was conducted on two factories in Selangor.
Selangor Immigration Department deputy director (control) Mohmad Khusairi Kamarudin said the factories involved were a plastic component manufacturing factory in Shah Alam and a furniture manufacturing factory in Klang.
He said 50 officers in total took part in Ops MEGA at the factories, comprising officers from his department, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), and the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry.
The operation, carried out on Wednesday (June 24), saw 586 foreign nationals in total inspected.
The 270 detained were all men, aged between 18 and 50.
Of those detained, 18 were from the first factory in Shah Alam, while the remaining 252 were detained at the second factory in Klang.
Those detained included 191 nationals from Bangladesh, Nepal (34), Myanmar (5), Pakistan (39), and Sri Lanka (1).
Mohmad said those detained were found to have overstayed their visas or misused their immigration passes.
“The intelligence-gathering process for this operation was conducted over a period of two to three weeks before it began at 8am on Wednesday (June 24).
“All detained foreign nationals will be placed at the Semenyih Immigration Depot for further investigation and action,” he said in a press conference after the operation at the Klang factory.
He also reminded employers to comply with regulations governing the hiring of foreign workers and said similar immigration operations would continue to be held from time to time.
“Employers must be attentive to the foreign workers they employ and ensure their Temporary Employment (PLKS) visas are in order and used for the appropriate workplace.
“If any violations come to our attention, we will take action, and it does not necessarily only involve factories,” he added.
