KUALA LUMPUR: Fifty foreigners have been arrested in a raid at a factory suspected of hiring illegal workers.
In a statement yesterday, Immigration Department director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the raid on Dec 11 was conducted at the clothes factory in Cheras following a two-week surveillance based on public complaints.
“The raiding team arrested a Bangladeshi man, aged 46, whom we believe was a manager.
“It is believed that he had been hiring illegal immigrants.
“Also detained were 34 Bangladeshi men and 15 Myanmar women whom we believe were hired as tailors,” he said.
Investigations showed that the company had been operating for around two years.
“Some 40 time cards and various sewing machines were seized during the operation,” Zakaria said, adding those detained had been taken to the Bukit Jalil depot for further investigations.
In an unrelated case, the department saved 11 people suspected of being human trafficking victims, aged between 30 and 38, after raids at three premises in Cheras.Zakaria said three Bangladeshi men, believed to be the masterminds, were arrested.
A 32-year-old Bangladeshi woman, who was found to be in a relationship with one of the suspects, was also caught.
Investigations showed that the victims came to Malaysia using tourist passes with a fee of RM15,000 each.
After arriving, they were confined at “transit homes”. To leave the place, each of them needed to pay another RM5,000.
Some 17 Bangladeshi passports and 20 handphones were seized during the raids.
