156 migrants detained in late-night Cyberjaya crackdown

The immigration department detained 156 immigrants during an integrated operation at an illegal settlement in Cyberjaya last night.

Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said 202 immigrants from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar and India, including 12 women and two children, were checked in the 11pm operation.

He said those checked ranged in age from below four to 50 years old.

Khairul said 156 of them were detained for not having valid travel and identification documents and taken to the immigration department’s screening centre in Putrajaya for further action.

He said the raid on the settlement, which had access to water supply and electricity through illegal connections, was carried out in collaboration with several enforcement agencies including the police, the Civil Defence Force and the National Registration Department, after three months of intelligence.

“This illegal settlement has the potential of spreading Covid-19 infections as it fails to comply with the stipulated SOPs under the movement control order,” he said when met by reporters after the operation today.

Khairul also denied that the immigration department only takes action against illegal immigrants, but not their employers.

“The claims are untrue because in 2019, a total of 1,052 employers were charged in court with various offences under the Immigration Act, involving a total fine of RM19.3 million,” he said.

He said last year, 519 employers were brought to court, involving a total fine of more than RM10 million.

As of last month, 130 employers had been slapped with fines amounting to RM3.2 million, he added.