PETALING JAYA: Nearly 60 people have been arrested in Immigration Department raids on suspected prostitution rings in Negri Sembilan.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said three areas in Seremban were raided on Sunday (Aug 23).
The operations was launched following information gathered via a collaboration with the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
"Based on initial information from the Embassy regarding Indonesian nationals allegedly involved in immoral activities, as well as intelligence gathered by the department, the operations team was deployed to the locations.
"A total of 57 people were detained, comprising seven local men, three Indonesian men, 12 Bangladeshi men, three Myanmar men, 26 Indonesian women, five Bangladeshi women and one Indian woman. Those detained were aged between 19 and 65.
"During inspections of the premises, the enforcement team seized several Bangladeshi, Indian and Indonesian passports as well as mobile phones, premises keys and condoms," he said in a statement on Monday (Aug 24).
Investigations at the premises found that the women stayed at guest houses and budget hotels for up to a month.
Sexual services for a fee were also believed to have been offered.
The vice operations are believed to have catered to both locals and foreigners, with transactions handled by paid "captains".
"The activity is believed to have been going on for about a year under an organised management structure... with estimated profits of about RM540,000 annually," Zakaria said.
All the suspects have been taken into custody for further investigations, he added.
"Seven Malaysians were detained for allegedly committing offences under Section 56(1)(d) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
"The foreign nationals were detained for alleged offences under Sections 6(1)(c) and 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act, as well as Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963," he said.
