ALOR SETAR: Five Thai female masseuses tried to evade arrest by state immigration officers by hiding inside the ceiling of the building they were in.
However, it was an exercise in futility as they were eventually arrested by immigration officers at Jalan Putra here for working illegally in the country.
The women, aged between 29 and 42, were nabbed at a massage centre in an operation led by the department's enforcement officer Phon Ai Liap and 14 personnel on Tuesday night.
Its enforcement division chief Mohd Shahrir Khalil said the team inspected eight Thai women who worked at the two-storey building premises. Five did not have any work permits.
“Some of the women tried to escape arrest by hiding inside the ceiling but they were caught," he said in a statement today.
He said the women have been detained at the Immigration Department lock-up for further investigation.