KUCHING: The party ended abruptly for dozens as immigration enforcers struck hard in surprise raids, pulling 79 foreigners out of online gambling dens and a city night club.
Codenamed ‘Ops Gegar’ and ‘Ops Sapu’, the operations were carried out between Aug 22 and 23 as the Sarawak Immigration Department’s Enforcement Division zeroed in on six locations – five rented houses in Lorong Batu Kawa and Matang, and a bustling night club in the city centre.
The swoop followed weeks of intelligence gathering and public tip-offs, with officers moving in under the cover of darkness between 11 pm and 2 am.
Out of 93 individuals inspected, 79 were taken into custody for various immigration offences such as overstaying, misusing social visit passes and having no valid travel documents.
Those detained comprised 73 Indonesian men, a Vietnamese woman and five Filipino women.
All of them are being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, and Immigration Regulations 1963.
The department said these operations reflect their commitment to rooting out illegal immigrants and curbing abuse of travel passes.
Members of the public are urged to cooperate with the department by reporting activities of undocumented migrants as it is vital in safeguarding national security and sovereignty.
