Kuala Lumpur: Chaos erupted during enforcement operations by the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) at two major shopping and business ...
Kuala Lumpur: Chaos erupted during enforcement operations by the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) at two major shopping and business centers, Plaza Kotaraya and Galaxy Ampang, where a total of 217 foreign nationals were detained.
Eyewitnesses reported that several individuals attempted to flee to avoid arrest, with some even abandoning customers at their business premises. However, authorities managed to apprehend them. In a separate incident in Ampang, an elderly couple became trapped inside a shop during the raid. They sought help from officials and were safely rescued by a response team.
According to Deputy Director-General (Operations) of Immigration, Datuk Lokman Affandi Ramli, those detained included 55 men and 162 women aged between 21 and 63. The breakdown is as follows:
- Indonesia: 40 women, 20 men
- Philippines: 46 women, 5 men
- Myanmar: 72 women, 17 men
- Bangladesh: 3 men
- India: 3 men, 2 women
- Nepal: 5 men
- Pakistan: 2 women
- Nigeria: 1 man
- Germany: 1 man
He added that 65 individuals were detained at Plaza Kotaraya, while 152 were arrested in Ampang. Preliminary investigations revealed multiple immigration violations, including lack of valid identification documents, breach of pass conditions, overstaying, use of unrecognized cards, and other offences. Irregularities in entry and exit stamps, as well as suspected fake MyKad identity cards, were also detected. These cases have been handed over to the National Registration Department (JPN) for further investigation.
Datuk Lokman Affandi emphasized that enforcement operations will continue on a regular basis to identify, arrest, prosecute, and deport offenders. The actions are being carried out under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966, Immigration Regulations 1963, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
He stated that most of the business premises involved are owned by locals, but foreign workers had been employed there. All detainees were transferred to the Beranang Immigration Detention Depot and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) for further investigation and action.
The public and employers were warned that strict legal action will be taken against anyone found harboring illegal immigrants.
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