JOHOR BAHRU: The Immigration Department (JIM) detained 26 foreigners, including a place of worship caretaker, for not possessing valid passes or permits to stay in the country during raids on seven premises in Taman Setia Indah here today.
Johor Immigration Department acting director Mohd Faizal Shamsudin said all those detained in the Ops Sapu and Ops Selera raids just past midnight were aged between 22 and 47 years.
“Those detained comprise 16 men and one woman from Myanmar, seven men from Indonesia, one man from India, and one woman from Thailand.
“Inspections also revealed that a shophouse had been converted into a place of worship for foreigners, and a Myanmar national admitted to being its caretaker,“ he said in a statement here.
He added that a restaurant run by foreigners was also found to be operating without a valid business licence.
Mohd Faizal said the cases are being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155).
“The place of worship caretaker will also be investigated under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 for violating the conditions of the pass issued,“ he said.
