PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department (JIM) has rescued two Bangladeshi women, aged 30 and 34, believed to be victims of sex trafficking in a special operation yesterday.
The Immigration Department, in a statement said the operation, which began at 2.38 pm, involved a team of officers and personnel from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division at their headquarters in Putrajaya.
The operation also led to the arrest of a 36-year-old Bangladeshi man, believed to be the main perpetrator, who allegedly used the location raided as a hub for sexual activities.
JIM also detained three Bangladeshi men aged between 30 and 50. Two of them are believed to be syndicate members, while the third was a customer who was at the premises during the raid.
According to the statement, the syndicate’s modus operandi involved bringing in foreign women, particularly from Bangladesh, under the pretense of offering jobs with a monthly salary of around RM2,000 in Malaysia.
“Upon their arrival in Malaysia, the foreign women were taken to a location used as a residence and later moved to another place to carry out sexual activities.
“The victims were forced to work from morning until late at night, serving foreign clients brought by the syndicate,” the statement said.
JIM said the victims, believed to have been exploited for a month, had not received any payment and were only provided with food and drinks.
According to JIM, the operation was carried out by identifying human trafficking victims based on the National Guidelines on Human Trafficking Indicators (NGHTI) 2.0, while enforcement actions were taken under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007 (Act 670).
