KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 117 people were detained by the Immigration Department in seven raids on prostitution dens in Negri Sembilan and Selangor, and 82 of the total were foreign women.
Immigration director general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the raids were conducted in Seremban and Seri Kembangan on premises controlled by two prostitution syndicates on July 24 and July 25.
"We detained 10 Malaysian men, 48 Vietnamese women, 34 Indonesian women and three Bangladeshi women. Others detained were 22 foreign men from Bangladesh.
"The locals detained were working as the caretakers for the various premises," he said in a statement on Saturday (July 27).
He said checks showed that 19 of the foreigners had valid passes while 22 others had overstayed and added that the remaining foreigners detained did not have valid travel documents or passes.
Ruslin said some of the foreign women had hidden in secret rooms during the raids.
"Some local and foreign customers attempted to distract those raiding them but (Immigration personnel) managed to uncover the secret rooms," he said.
Ruslin added that among the items seized in the raids were 24 Vietnamese passports, 12 Indonesian passports, five Bangladeshi passports and a Nepalese passport along with RM7,055 cash.
He then said that the two syndicates offered massage and sex services.
"They catered to foreign and local customers. Customers will go the premises to pick the massage packages and the foreign women they wanted.
"They will pay cash or transfer the funds online before the foreign women serve the customers. The services are priced between RM400 and RM900 an hour," he said.
The foreigners detained were brought to the Lenggeng and Bukit Jalil Immigration depots, he said.
"10 Malaysians and two Bangladeshi men have been issued notices to go to the Immigration office to assist the investigation. We will continue to take stern action against any party who has committed immigration offences," he said.
