Immigration nabs 43 undocumented migrants in Jakel Mall raid

The Immigration Department raided Jakel Mall in Kuala Lumpur in an operation last Friday and nabbed 43 undocumented migrant workers.

In a statement today, Immigration Department director-general Mustafar Ali said that enforcement officers inspected 132 workers and found that 43 of them had committed offences, ranging from overstaying in the country without a valid permit to failure to show valid travel documents.

Of the detainees, 36 were Bangladeshi men and seven Indonesian, including four women.

Mustafar said the department had also issued Form 29 or witness summons to the employers’ representatives for further investigation.

"The Immigration Department has given employers an ample time to register their foreign employees, but some of them didn't seize the opportunity.

"Therefore they will face the legal action if they are identified in the ongoing operation to curb undocumented migrants in this country," the statement read.

From Jan 1 to July 7 this year, Mustafar said, the agency conducted 7,477 operations nationwide, where the officers inspected 91,650 immigrants and arrested 22,126.

He added that as many as 585 employers were also arrested within the duration.

Indonesians topped the list with 7,327 arrests, followed by Bangladeshis (4,483), Filipinos (2,237) and Myanmar (2,188). - Mkini