A total of 214 illegal immigrants, including 123 Bangladeshis, have been arrested in two raids conducted by the Malaysian Immigration Department in Johor Baru state.
The raids targeted workers' settlements near Kampung Belokok and Jalan Lingkaran Dalam areas of the state, reports the Malaysian newspaper The Star.
Johor Immigration Deputy Director-General Jafri Embok Taha said: “140 officers and department personnel carried out the first raid at 12:45 am on Saturday.”
Two local men were arrested for harboring illegal immigrants.
The raid in Kampung Belokok followed a public tip-off and two weeks of surveillance by department personnel and the drone unit. Out of 252 people inspected, 92 were arrested for various offences.
The detainees included 53 Bangladeshi men, 30 Chinese men, four men each from India and Indonesia, and one man from Pakistan. The settlement, located about 500 meters from a construction site, appeared to have been established for less than a year based on the construction’s progress.
The second raid, conducted at 3:20 am at a workers' settlement near Danga City Mall, also followed a public tip-off and two weeks of surveillance. During this raid, 725 people were inspected, and 122 were arrested for various immigration offences.
The detainees included 70 Bangladeshi men, 31 Indonesian men, 20 Myanmar men, and one Pakistani man.
A man was also arrested for possessing a fake United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card. Although he claimed to be from Myanmar, a background check revealed he was from Bangladesh.
All detainees have been taken to the state immigration department headquarters for documentation.
Jafri reminded employers to ensure their foreign workers are legally employed and noted that some immigrants suffered minor injuries while trying to escape arrest.
