JOHOR BARU: Two Bangladeshi men with expired working permits were found allegedly harbouring their newly arrived compatriots, and were among 38 foreigners arrested in a two-day immigration raid.
The Johor Immigration Department enforcement officers conducted checks on 27 premises in the state capital on Monday and Tuesday.
They inspected the documents of 126 foreigners and locals, 38 of whom failed to produce any and were detained.
Among them were the Bangladeshi men, who had entered the country legally and had valid working permits then. However, it had expired and they remained in the country illegally.
It is learnt they had entered the country more than 10 years ago, and managed their own business.
During the raids, they were found allegedly harbouring three undocumented Bangladeshis. Also found on them were forged passports.
State Immigration director Baharuddin Tahir said the Bangladeshi men violated Section 55E and 56(1) (1) of the Immigration Act by allowing undocumented immigrants to reside in the premises under their supervision or management, and utilising forged passports.
Also detained was an Indonesian man allegedly under Section 55B (1) of the same act for employing foreigners without valid permits.
The remaining detainees, aged between 21 and 58, were three Bangladeshi men, 17 Indonesians including eight women, five Pakistani men, nine Myanmar-nationals including three women, and two Indian men.
Six appearance notices were issued to local business proprietors to have their statement recorded to facilitate investigations.
The detainees are currently being held at the Immigration Department's depot at Setia Tropika Immigration Depot for further investigation under Section 6(1)(c) of the Act for failing to produce valid permits and visas to remain in the country.