136 illegal immigrants held in raid on luxury condo

KUALA LUMPUR - A total of 136 illegal immigrants occupying a luxury condominium on Jalan Munshi Abdullah here, including the penthouse unit, were detained in an operation held early this morning.

Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the raid was carried out following intelligence and complaints from members of the public who claimed that there were too many foreigners in the area, causing concern.

He said those detained comprised 130 men and six women from Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Thailand, aged 20 to 70, who committed various offences, including overstaying and lacking travel documents.

"Our initial investigation found that these foreigners were renting in two condominium blocks with three or four-bedroom units, housing at least eight individuals.

"Some were found staying in the penthouse, which indicates good income,” he told reporters after the operation.

Ruslin said the immigration would conduct an investigation and summon the homeowners and condominium management to determine whether the houses were rented by employers or the foreigners themselves.

It is understood that most of the foreigners were renting rooms in the condominium with rental rates between RM500 and RM800 per month.

He added that the condominium had been raided before and several illegal immigrants were detained.

Meanwhile, Ruslin said a total of 3,016 foreigners were inspected in the operation that took place from 1 am to 4 am, involving 338 immigration personnel from Putrajaya, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Those detained were taken to the Immigration Depot in Semenyih, Selangor for further investigation under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passports Act 1966 and Immigration Regulations 1963.

He also said that the Immigration Department had conducted 7,169 operations from January until Oct 18, resulting in the detention of 48,656 illegal immigrants and 245 employers. - BERNAMA