KOTA BHARU: The Immigration Department detained 114 illegal immigrants for various offences in an operation at a steel factory near the Staponal Industrial Area, Batu Jong in Kuala Krai today.
Immigration Department Enforcement Division director Basri Othman said those detained were 70 Chinese nationals, 28 Bangladeshis, one Thai, two Pakistanis, 11 Myanmar nationals and two Indonesians.
“The operation codenamed Ops Mahir was prompted by public complaints and intelligence gathered over two weeks. It involved a team of 69 officers who successfully apprehended the group from 9 am to noon,” he told a press conference at the Kelantan Immigration Complex here.
Of the 114 individuals detained, 98 were men and 16 were women, aged between 24 and 50.
According to Basri, the factory near a hill was quite secluded, and the Tactical Team was deployed to encircle the area and prevent any escape attempts.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the foreign workers were residing on the premises and in the surrounding hilly areas to evade detection.
“The detained immigrants were found to have committed offences under Section 15(1)(c), Section 6(1)(c) and Section 39(b) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for overstaying, lacking valid documents and misusing visitor passes.
“A 50-year-old man is also being investigated under Sections 55E and 56(1)(d) of the same act,” he said.
