KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 248 foreign nationals were detained for document verification following an integrated Immigration Department raid at an apartment complex in Kajang on Tuesday night (Aug 11).
Sinar Harian reported that the joint operation with the National Registration Department, dubbed Ops Sasar, was carried out at 10.30pm across two five-storey blocks at Suteramas Apartment.
Immigration Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban on Wednesday (Aug 12) said the detainees comprised Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals, some of whom possessed United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.
"We will first conduct checks to verify whether the cards are genuine," Zakaria said, adding that some blacklisted foreigners have continued to re-enter Malaysia via unauthorised routes to bypass legal border controls.
During the raid, several undocumented migrants revealed the fees and routes used to enter the country. A 37-year-old Myanmar woman said her family paid RM6,000 to a Thai boatman to be ferried to Langkawi in two separate trips. Another 24-year-old Myanmar woman stated she paid RM3,000 to a local land smuggler to cross illegally into Kelantan via Sungai Golok.
Zakaria emphasised that enforcement operations will continue systematically to arrest, prosecute, and deport individuals violating national immigration, passport, and anti-human trafficking laws.
