KUALA LUMPUR: Workers of a beauty salon in a major shopping mall here scattered and fled after realising the presence of Immigration Department officers this afternoon.
Immigration officers had descended upon the shop in the 2pm raid. However, they found the shop open minus the workers, who had fled.
The raid, done under Op Kutip, was carried out following a week-long surveillance on the shop after the department received a tip-off on the presence of illegal immigrants at the premises.
Immigration deputy director-general (operations) Jafri Embok Taha said they inspected 53 foreign nationals, and arrested 46 for various offences.
Those arrested comprised 20 men and 26 women, aged between 20 and 45.
He said the illegal immigrants detained comprised 16 from Myanmar, 10 from India, eight each from Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as four Indonesians.
Among the offences included not having any passes or valid permits, overstaying and failure to comply with the terms of the passes.
"They were taken to the Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department headquarters for further investigation under the Immigration Act 1959/63," he said in a press conference after the raid.
Jafri said the department also detained four Malaysian employers under suspicion of illegally employing foreign workers without a permit.
The department would also be calling up the employers of the illegal immigrants detained.
"This shopping mall is among the 20 hotspots identified by the department (for illegal immigrants)," he said.