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Ahmadul Kobir, Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s Immigration Department (JIM) has uncovered an alleged sex trade syndicate involving foreign women in Kuala Lumpur, arresting 26 individuals, including a Bangladesh-Thailand couple. A Malaysian man among those detained is believed to have acted as a “captain” or premises guard for the operation.
The arrests were made during a raid conducted on Wednesday night in the Jalan Kuchai Lama and Jalan Gelugor areas. The operation began at about 10.50pm and was carried out by officers from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division at the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya following two weeks of surveillance.
In a statement on Thursday, Immigration Department director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the 26 individuals, aged between 18 and 35, comprised one Bangladeshi man, one Thai woman, one Malaysian man, three Myanmar men, three Bangladeshi women, 14 Indonesian women, two Vietnamese women and one Myanmar woman.
He said preliminary checks found that none of the foreign nationals detained possessed valid travel documents or passes to remain in Malaysia.
During the operation, enforcement officers seized four Bangladeshi passports, one Thai passport and one Indonesian passport. They also confiscated mobile phones, condoms and RM1,215 in cash believed to be proceeds from the alleged activities.
Zakaria said intelligence gathered by the department indicated that two premises, one residential and one commercial, had been used to conduct immoral activities involving foreign women as sex workers.
The residential premises were promoted to customers through social media platforms, particularly targeting Bangladeshis living in the Klang Valley, he said.
“The alleged masterminds controlled the movements of the workers and kept their passports, while activities at the residential premises were carried out discreetly to avoid detection by the authorities,” he said.
The activities at the commercial premises, meanwhile, were allegedly controlled by a local man who acted as the “captain”.
According to Zakaria, customers were charged RM200 for 60 minutes at the residential premises, while the rate at the commercial premises ranged from RM260 to RM400 for 90 minutes.
The syndicate is believed to have been operating for about two months.
Zakaria said the foreign couple and the local man were being investigated for alleged offences under Section 56(1)(d) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, while the other foreign nationals were detained for alleged offences under Section 6(1)(c) of the same Act.
All those detained were taken to the Immigration office for further action.
Meanwhile, seven local men were issued notices to appear at the Immigration office to assist in the investigation.
Zakaria stressed that JIM would continue taking firm action against any activities that violated Malaysian laws.
“The department will continue taking decisive action to curb any activities that violate the laws of this country to ensure that Malaysia’s stability, prosperity and peace are always maintained,” he said.