Rounded up: Several foreign nationals getting onto an Immigration Department truck after the raid.
KUALA LUMPUR: A syndicate that exploited children for street begging by giving them sleep-inducing medicine has been busted by the Immigration Department. The raid conducted at around 9pm on Tuesday, following a two-month investigation, uncovered a four-storey shophouse used to house the children and adult foreigners involved.
Several bottles of cough medicine were found inside.
According to Bernama, the children – aged between 10 months and six – were given medicine that was believed to make them sleep before they were taken by the adults to beg on streets such as Jalan Chow Kit, Jalan Masjid India and Jalan Sentul in the mornings.
The raid also successfully uncovered a passport forgery syndicate operating under the guise of laundry shops, telecommunication stores and barber shops.
In a statement yesterday, the Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department said that around 80 people were detained, including 22 Pakistani women and 11 children.
Some of the items seized by the department believed to have been used by the syndicate. — Bernama
A Malaysian man was among those arrested.
“The Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department is conducting further investigations to identify the mastermind behind this syndicate.
“The beggars are believed to have been exploited by the syndicate to collect donations around the city, which had caused uneasiness amongst those staying in the area,” the department said.
The statement added that the operation was held in Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah and was the result of a two-month surveillance operation.
“The syndicate used the storehouse that was made to look like a smartphone and gadget shop to hide their illegal activities. Inside, there were several homes that were separated using planks, and were found to be in a filthy state.
“Many of the beggars were housed at the top floor of the shophouse,” it said.
All those detained have been brought to the Bukit Jalil Immigration Depot and are being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Passports Act 1966.
