KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 263 people were picked up in 'Ops Noda and Limau' along Jalan Pasar Pudu here last night.
The 6pm raid was conducted by a team of city policemen on an abandoned hotel building suspected of conducting prostitution activities and housing undocumented immigrants.
City police chief Datuk Allaudeen Abdul Majid said during the raid, his team surrounded the entire building to prevent anyone from escaping.
"During the raid, a Bangladeshi man in his 30s attempted to escape by jumping from the first floor, but his attempt failed as he was apprehended by policemen on site. The man was fortunate not to have suffered any injuries." he said.
Allaudeen said the team detained 229 men and 34 women, consisting of locals and foreigners from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, China and Thailand.
He said that 20 out of the 34 detained women were suspected to be involved in prostitution activities.
"Most of the local men detained in this raid are customers of the prostitutes residing in the hotel.
"As for the foreign men, some of them (detained) are residents, while the rest are customers (of the prostitutes)," he said.
He added that during the operation, his team also conducted examinations on 14 children who were believed to be residing in the building.
He said all of them were brought to the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters for further investigation, including urine screening tests to determine their involvement in drug abuse.
"They are being investigated under Section 372B of the Penal Code for engaging in prostitution activities and Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing public servants from performing their duties.
"In addition, they are also being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for foreigners and the Dangerous Drugs Act (ADB) 1952 for those who test positive for drugs," he said.