International Desk:

The Johor Immigration Department has detained a total of 137 illegal immigrants of various nationalities, including 19 Bangladeshis, during an operation at a construction site in Johor Baru, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor, The Star newspaper reports.

Director Baharuddin Tahir said that the operation was carried out in Jaya Putra here at around 12.38 am hours of Friday (March 22) morning, according to the report.

“The department carried out the operation following public information about the presence of many immigrants in the area.

“In the operation, these immigrants were living inside 12 ‘rumah kongsi,’ which have more than 200 rooms that were inspected by our enforcement personnel,” he was quoted as saying in a statement on Friday.

Baharuddin was cited as adding some 219 immigrants and one local were inspected where 137 of them have committed offences under various immigration offences.

He was cited as saying that among those that had been detained included 98 Indonesians including 17 women, 19 Bangladeshis, 16 Myanmar nationals including two women, two Vietnamese nationals including a woman and two Pakistanis.

Baharuddin was also cited as adding that all of those detained were between 18 and 55 years old and were currently being placed at Setia Tropika Immigration Depot for further investigations.