Immigration officers inspecting documents during the sweep.
JOHOR BARU: The Immigration Department has nabbed 71 foreigners after a sweep at several premises and hotspots in Muar.
Acting Johor Immigration director Mohd Faizal Shamsudin said 44 of them were detained from 11 premises in Muar, including a metal factory on Tuesday (May 28).
“We raided the locations based on public tip-offs about illegal foreigners suspected of working without a valid permit.
“During the raids, 110 foreigners and locals were inspected before narrowing down to the 44 foreigners, including four women, who committed various immigration offences,” he said in a statement on Thursday (May 30).
Those detained were from Thailand, Bangladesh, China and Indonesia and were aged from 15 to 46 years old.
Mohd Faizal added that 27 foreigners from Myanmar, the Philippines, India and Bangladesh were also detained during raids in Johor Baru conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Those detained, aged 22 to 53 years old, included nine women.
“All those detained are being investigated for violating their social visit passes as well as for not possessing valid documents to work in Malaysia.
“We will continue clamping down on illegal foreigner activities in the state,” he said.