SEREMBAN: Sixty-seven Indonesians without valid travel documents were detained in a joint raid carried out by several government agencies in a secluded area which had been turned into a settlement in Nilai near here early yesterday.
State Immigration Department director Kennith Tan Ai Kiang said the raiding team had to walk 1.2km through the jungle before they reached the area.
“There was also a school-like facility in the area where the children were taught the syllabus of a neighbouring country.
“The village was powered by several gen-sets as it was located in a secluded area,” he said in a statement.
Tan said the authorities had carried out a month-long surveillance before they decided to act.
Those detained are between two months and 72 years of age.
Eleven of those arrested are men, 20 women and the rest being children.
“We believe they picked the area to build a settlement thinking they could avoid detection.
“We only knew of their presence after being tipped off by the local community who were worried over their safety,” he said.
He said the Immigration Department was assisted by teams from the General Operations Force, National Registration Department and the Civil Defence.
Some of the illegals had attempted to flee during the operation but were caught. Some were aggressive and weapons like spears and machetes were also seized.
