In a major crackdown of various immigration offences, the Malaysian Immigration Department have arrested 468 foreigners, including 174 Bangladeshis, during a large-scale operation in the country’s Cameron Highlands area.
The operation, codenamed “Op Gempur,” saw the deployment of 547 personnel and officers who conducted simultaneous raids across four zones from 11am to 2pm on Thursday. The targeted areas included business districts, construction sites, and vegetable farms.
According to the national news agency Bernama, many of the foreign workers were caught by surprise while packing vegetables, leaving them with no opportunity to flee upon the arrival of the enforcement teams.
Malaysian Immigration Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban stated that the extensive raids were the result of a month of planning, initiated after the department received numerous complaints from local residents.
“Through the intelligence conducted, we found that this district has become a focus of foreigners to work in addition to being involved in agricultural activities in the surrounding areas,” he said.
He further explained that the influx of foreign workers into the highlands has become a noticeable trend in recent years, raising concerns within the local community.
The region’s hilly geography and its relative remoteness from the city, combined with the willingness of local business owners to hire them, have made it a preferred destination for these migrants.
During the operation, a total of 1,886 foreigners were screened, leading to the detention of 468 individuals. The offences included possessing expired passes, having no valid travel documents, and presenting temporary work visit passes believed to be counterfeit.
The detainees comprised 175 nationals from Myanmar, 174 from Bangladesh, 67 from Indonesia, 20 from Nepal, 16 from Pakistan, and 11 from India. Single individuals from the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, and Cambodia were also detained. The group included 388 men, 76 women, and four children.
According to him, all those detained are aged between 20 and 54 and will be sent to Immigration Detention Depots in Kelantan, Perak and Selangor.
Revealing a broader national effort, the Immigration Director-General provided statistics showing that from the start of the year until 18 November, a total of 83,994 foreigners have been detained across the country as part of the department’s ongoing campaign against illegal immigration.
