Illegal settlement found in a forest near Bandar Ainsdale

SEREMBAN - A month after an illegal settlement was raided in a joint operation in Nilai Springs, another illegal settlement was found in a forest near Bandar Ainsdale here, believed to have been developed for the past few years.

The illegal settlement located in a hilly area equipped with two football fields was found by Negeri Sembilan Immigration Department (JIM) in a raid carried out at 1am on Friday.

Negeri Sembilan JIM director Kennith Tan Ai Kiang said there were tents set up as hiding places for the undocumented migrants.

"The placement is at an uneven surface area that can pose high risk of injury to all officers.

"The operation team had to walk one kilometer through the forest before reaching the illegal settlement," he said in a statement to the media today.

Meanwhile, he said the operation was also assisted by KLIA Immigration Enforcement Department, the National Registration Department and Negeri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs Department.

A total of 47 illegal immigrants aged between one to 61 years old were examined and 32 of them were detained.

He added that they consisted of 16 men, 15 women and a girl.

"All of them believed to have been living there for the past few years to avoid being detected by authorities.

"There were some who tried to escape during the raid but they were stopped by the operation team," he said.

He said among the offences committed were not having identification documents, for overstaying and other offences that violated the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passports Act 1966 and the Immigration Regulations 1963.

He said all detained individuals will be placed at the Lenggeng Immigration Depot, Negeri Sembilan for further investigation and action.

"We are in the process of identifying if the settlement was built on a privately owned land or the state government-owned land that was illegally explored.

"Local authorities will be notified about the demolition if it is found that the settlement was built on government-owned land," he said.