KUALA LUMPUR: Keeping their doors shut to ‘outsiders’ and admitting only regulars and known customers failed to keep a gambling outlet out of the eyes of the authorities after it was raided by the Immigration Department in Pandan Jaya here.
The outlet was among four premises raided in a special operation that began at 12.01am on Sept 19, following a month-long intelligence-gathering exercise.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said 15 foreigners, aged between 21 and 38, were detained in the operation.
He said those detained included a Bangladeshi man and an Indonesian woman believed to be working as caretaker and cashier at the premises.
Also detained were three Myanmar men, two Indonesian men, an Indian man, another Bangladeshi man and six Indonesian women.
“Initial checks found that all the foreigners had allegedly misused their passes, overstayed or did not have valid travel documents or passes to remain in the country,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The operation also saw the seizure of seven Indonesian passports, 31 tablets, 15 mobile phones, an employee roster, copies of tenancy agreements and RM1,674 in cash believed to be proceeds from the activities.
“Investigations found that the gambling operation was run discreetly with tight security, with the premises only opened to regular or known customers.
“The outlet was also equipped with closed-circuit television cameras to monitor customers and detect the presence of enforcement personnel.
“Its entrance was secured with a magnetic lock that could only be controlled from inside,” he said.
He said a Bangladeshi man and an Indonesian woman were being investigated under Section 56(1)(d) and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Four Indonesian women were investigated under Section 15(1)(c) of the same Act, while another Indonesian woman was investigated under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963.
The other foreigners were investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, and all were taken to the Putrajaya Immigration Office for further action.
Five local men were also issued notices to appear at the Immigration office to assist investigations.
Zakaria said the Immigration Department would continue to conduct enforcement operations to curb activities that violate the country’s law.
