Rounded up: Immigration officers arresting an illegal during the predawn raid in Cheras. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Immigration personnel hauled illegal immigrants out of cupboards and even refuse bins in a predawn raid that saw 425 people rounded up.
The undocumented foreigners were holed up in several units of an apartment block in Cheras when raiding officers stormed the place, following investigations and two weeks of surveillance, said Kuala Lumpur Immigration director Syamsul Bahrin Mohshin.
He said the department had received complaints from the public over the large presence of foreigners in the area, which residents claimed had caused social problems.
“Those arrested either did not have valid documents, overstayed, or their work permits had expired,” Syamsul Bahrin told a press conference yesterday.
Those arrested comprised 252 Bangladeshis, Myanmar (108), Filipinos (two), Indonesians (30), Cambodians (six), Nepalese (20) and seven Pakistanis, all aged between eight and 54.
Sixty immigration officers and personnel were involved in the three-hour operation that ended at 4am.
Syamsul Bahrin said investigations found that the illegal immigrants were employed in various fields including the construction and cleaning sectors.
He said some of the foreigners had also acted aggressively during the raid, throwing objects such as bottles to avoid being arrested.
However, no injuries were reported.
All those arrested were taken to the Bukit Jalil immigration depot.
In Ipoh, Immigration officers detained 59 foreigners, including two children, in an operation around a fishing jetty in Hutan Melintang.
State Immigration director Hapdzan Husaini said the foreigners, aged between seven and 55, were from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar.
He said 61 foreigners were checked during the operation at around 1am and 59 of them were found to be committing immigration-related offences.
The remaining two were handed over to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency for further investigation.
Some of the illegal immigrants had tried to escape arrest by jumping into the sea after detecting the presence of enforcement officers.
“However, we managed to arrest them,” said Hapdzan.
