Johor immigration operations in Segamat, Mersing and Muar detained 74 foreign nationals, including a one-month-old baby, for various immigration offences.
JOHOR BAHRU: Immigration enforcement operations across three districts in Johor have resulted in the detention of 74 foreign nationals, including a one-month-old infant.
The operations, codenamed Ops Gegar, Ops Belanja, Ops Sapu and Ops Selera, were conducted at construction sites, residential houses and business premises in Segamat, Mersing and Muar on Friday and Saturday.
Johor Immigration director Datuk Mohd Rusdi Mohd Darus said those detained comprised 18 Thai women, six Vietnamese women, two Laotian women, 24 Indonesians including three women, seven Bangladeshi men, and 17 Myanmar nationals including five women, with ages ranging from one month to 48 years.
“Two local men were also detained, believed to be acting as premise managers and harbouring illegal foreign workers,” he said in a statement.
Mohd Rusdi added that the operations uncovered the involvement of employers and locals acting as intermediaries in rental arrangements to conceal the real identities of tenants.
“Based on intelligence and public information, we successfully identified premises being used as elderly care centres that employed or sheltered illegal immigrants,” he said.
All detainees are suspected of committing offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Immigration Regulations 1963.
They have been transferred to the Setia Tropika and Pekan Nanas Immigration Depots for further investigation and processing.
Authorities also issued a total of 15 Immigration Form 29 summonses to witnesses during the course of the operations.
