KUCHING: The Sarawak Immigration Department has arrested 27 foreigners, including seven men, following a raid on an entertainment centre on Friday (Feb 16).
Its director Abdul Halim Abang Naili in a press conference, said that the raid dubbed ‘Ops Gegar’ took place around 9.30pm in the city.
He said it was conducted based on public tip-offs and intelligence indicating foreign workers with expired working permits and overstaying in Malaysia without proper documentation.
“As a result, the team managed to arrest 20 women – 17 Chinese, two Vietnamese, and one Indonesian.
“In addition, they also picked up seven Indonesian men at the centre.
“All of the detainees are being held at the Semuja Immigration Detention Depot for further investigation under the Immigration Act 1959/63,” he said.
Abdul Halim emphasised that similar operations will be conducted throughout Sarawak to address the issue of undocumented foreigners in the state.
In light of this, the public is urged to collaborate with the department by providing information on suspected foreigners working without proper work and travel documents.
He shared that between Jan 1 and Feb 14 this year, his department has successfully carried out 117 operations across Sarawak.
“Inspections were conducted on a total of 1,448 foreigners.
“Of the figure, 493 were detained along with seven local employers,” he said.
