Malaysian authorities arrested 37 undocumented immigrants, including Bangladeshis, during a raid on a residential complex in Serdang on Tuesday.
According to Datuk Zakaria Shaaban, director-general of the Immigration Department, the raid took place in Pangsapuri Timur in Serdang on Tuesday, reports The Star.
Datuk Zakaria Shaaban, director-general of the Immigration Department, said the operation was carried out at Pangsapuri Timur following public complaints about foreigners living there without valid documents, according to The Star.
After 82 people were examined, 37 suspects between the ages of 19 and 50 were taken into custody.
"They included Bangladeshis, Myanmar nationals, Indonesians, and Pakistanis," he said.
Public complaints about illegal immigrants residing in the apartments without passes or appropriate identification documents prompted the operation.
Officers had to forcibly enter units because some people refused to comply during the raid. All were discovered and taken into custody; however, some were discovered hiding in the water tank area and the building's ceiling. All suspect has been brought to the department's Bukit Jalil depot.
Zakaria Shaaban promised that enforcement actions against people who break immigration rules, including as those who hire or harbor unauthorized immigrants, would not stop, reports New Straits Times.
"We will take strict action against anyone found guilty under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passport Act 1966, the Immigration Regulations 1963, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007," he said.
