JOHOR BARU: In a crackdown on prostitution, drugs and suspected illicit entertainment outlets, Johor police arrested 184 people, including 162 foreign men and women.
Johor police raided several clubs and pubs, suspected of operating without valid business licences while hiring undocumented foreign women as "guest relation officers" (GROs).
In a series of raids from midnight on Saturday to 5am the next day, under Op Noda Khas and Op Hibur, 23 officers and 114 rank and file personnel stormed the premises simultaneously in various districts within the state.
Johor police chief Commissioner M. Kumar said the 184 detained, aged between 21 and 64, were nabbed for various offences under the Johor State Entertainment Premises Enactment, the Immigration Act and the Dangerous Drugs Act.
Out of the 184 detained, 32 were men and 152 were women.
"(Those arrested included) the outlets' proprietors, while entertainment equipment namely DVD players, amplifiers, laptops, sound amplification devices, microphones, were seized for investigation purposes," he said.
Police also seized an undisclosed amount of cash, believed to be proceeds of illicit activities.
They also conducted urine tests on the patrons, and found 48 of them positive for drug abuse.
Out of the 48 arrested under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, 16 locals including two women and 32 foreigners including 28 foreign women had tested positive.
Kumar said the raids also led police to the arrest of a local man on its wanted person list to facilitate investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
He added that besides the drug abuse suspects, the detainees were held as they had violated numerous offences under the State Entertainment and Premises Enactment 1998 for operating entertainment businesses without proper licenses and, breaching the Immigration Act 1959/63 for employing individuals without valid work permits, misusing passes or work permits, and overstaying.
Kumar said Op Noda Khas and Op Hibur will be carried out periodically, aimed at eradicating illegal activities and violation of the law in entertainment outlets.
He said anyone with information on any form of illegal or criminal activities should contact the nearest police station or the Johor police hotline at 019-2792095 or its operations centre hotline at 07-2212999.