A total of 377 Bangladeshi nationals were among 770 foreign migrants detained during a special immigration raid carried out by the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) in the Bukit Bintang area of Jalan Bedara on Tuesday night, reports Malaysian media outlet Bernama.
The operation, named Op Belanja, was conducted between 7:30pm and 10:30pm, following public complaints over the past three weeks regarding large gatherings of foreigners engaging in social activities in the area, said JIM Enforcement Division Director Rasri Othman in a press briefing after the operation.
The raid uncovered illegal gambling activities, including an online gambling premises equipped with CCTV surveillance. When authorities broke into the premises, seven foreigners were still actively gambling online, unaware of the operation taking place. All were arrested on the spot.
"More surprisingly, the enforcement officers also found an online gambling premises equipped with a closed-circuit camera (CCTV) monitoring system.
"When the authorities broke down the door of the premises, seven foreigners were still engaged in online gambling, unaware of the presence of the operation personnel. They were all arrested," Rasri Osman said at the press conference.
Of that total, 770 foreigners were detained for various immigration offences, including not having Identification documents, overstaying and possessing unrecognised cards or passes. Further checks found that those detained consisted of 377 Rangladeshi men, 235 Myanmar men, 72 Nepalese men, 58 Indian men, 17 Indonesian men and two women, as well as three men and six women from other countries.
Shocked by the raid, some of them tried to escape by climbing buildings, hiding under tables and in business premises, but they were all arrested.
Basri said that although the dark environment and narrow lanes made the operation difficult, the 106 enforcement officers managed to conduct checks on 2,445 individuals, namely 1,500 foreigners and 845 locals
"All the detainees, aged between 21 and 65, were taken to JIM Putrajaya for initial screening before being placed at the Bukit Jalil and Lenggeng immigration Depots for further investigation," he said
Basri also reminded the public and employers not to protect illegal immigrants, as legal action may be taken.
Comments