PUTRAJAYA: Eighteen illegal immigrants who escaped from the Bidor Temporary Immigration Detention Depot in Perak last Thursday, were recaptured yesterday.
Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said this makes a total of 76 illegal immigrants who have been successfully captured as of 10pm last night.
"Based on information, another 18 illegal immigrants were arrested while hiding in a shared house in a palm oil plantation in Tapah, Perak.
"The remaining 53 suspects are still being hunted and the effort is being actively carried out by the police together with the team from the Immigration department and several other agencies," he said at a press conference early this morning.
Ruslin said the illegal immigrants are believed to still be in the nearby area and they were likely get help including food from the residents in the surrounding areas.
Therefore, he said, the search is still focused on the area around Bidor and Tapah involving an area of 20 kilometers.
He asked the local community to immediately pass on information to the authorities if they spotted the foreigners, adding that previous successful arrests were also the result of public information.
Ruslin said the authorities were investigating who the mastermind of the escape was.
"This case is under police investigation because a report has been made and it is being investigated as a criminal case," he said.