SHAH ALAM, JAN 18: A total of 1,530 individuals, comprising local citizens and foreign nationals, were inspected during a large-scale enforcement operation at two major shopping malls in the Klang Valley.
Berita Harian reported that the nearly five-hour operation was carried out by the Putrajaya Immigration Department following two weeks of intelligence gathering and public information.
The raids targeted shopping malls in the capital and Ampang, which were identified as frequent gathering spots for foreign nationals during weekends.
Some 120 Immigration officers and personnel were involved in the operation, assisted by officers from the National Registration Department (NRD).
Immigration Deputy Director General (Operations) Datuk Lokman Effendi Ramli said the first raid resulted in the arrest of 65 foreign nationals under the Immigration Act 1959/63.
“The second raid at a shopping mall in Ampang involved inspections on 654 individuals, comprising 260 locals and 394 foreign nationals.
“In that operation, 152 foreign nationals were detained for committing immigration offences,” he told the media after the operation concluded yesterday.
Those detained included undocumented migrants comprising 40 Indonesian men and 20 Indonesian women, 46 Filipino men and five Filipino women, 17 Myanmar men and 72 Myanmar women, three Indian men and two Indian women, three Bangladeshi men, five Nepali men, one man each from Nigeria and Germany, as well as two Pakistani women.
“All those detained are aged between 21 and 63, and were taken to the Beranang Immigration Detention Depot and KLIA for further investigations,” Lokman said.
He added that the department will also trace and investigate local employers found to be hiring undocumented migrants, as part of follow-up enforcement actions.
