SANDAKAN: The Immigration Department in Sabah detained 238 undocumented migrants out of 480 individuals inspected during an overnight enforcement operation at four locations here today.
State Immigration director Datuk Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yusof said the raids, carried out from 1.30 am to noon, targeted squatter settlements in Batu 8 and Batu 10, a construction site and a timber factory.
“Those detained were found to have committed various offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Immigration Regulations 1963,” she told reporters here today.
Sh Sitti Saleha said the operations, involving 71 immigration officers, identified offences including lack of valid identification documents, overstaying and misuse of passes among the undocumented migrants.
“In the first five months of this year, 13,850 individuals were inspected, with 2,730 undocumented migrants detained,” she said.
Sh Sitti Saleha said 53 employers were also charged for hiring illegal migrants during that period.
