Nabbed: The undocumented foreigners sitting in lines after being rounded up by the Immigration Department at Tamara Residence condomunium in Putrajaya. — Courtesy of Immigration Department
PUTRAJAYA: A total of 25 undocumented foreigners were detained following a raid at Tamara Residence condominium here, says the Immigration Department.
Its director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said those detained in the raid yesterday morning comprised 23 men and two women – with ages between 25 and 45.
They were from India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar and the Philippines, he added.
“We inspected 127 individuals following complaints from the public and our surveillance of undocumented foreigners in the area.
“There were some foreigners who did not give their full cooperation to enforcement officers,” Ruslin told reporters.
Also present were Immigra- tion deputy director-general (Operation) Jafri Embok Taha and Immigration Enforcement director Mohd Jasmi Mohd Juwahir.
Ruslin said some of the units were turned into hostels for the foreigners.
“Their employers would rent out each unit for RM2,500 a month and it will be occupied by five to 10 foreigners.
“We believe the foreigners were working in the surrounding area as there are several shops nearby,” he said.
Among the offences committed were not having personal identification documents and overstaying.
“Those detained were brought to the Immigration Department headquarters for further action.
“We will also question their employers as hiring illegal foreigners is a serious offence,” he added.
Ruslin said 141 Immigration officers and personnel were involved in the raid.
“We will continue to conduct such operations to nab undocumented foreigners nationwide,” he said.
As of Feb 2, 1,437 operations had been conducted while 17,348 foreigners were inspected nationwide.
A total of 4,891 undocumented foreigners have been detained while 3,622 have been deported.
