KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian authorities arrested 468 foreigners, including 174 Bangladeshis, in a special immigration operation in the Cameron Highlands, the country’s official Bernama news agency reported.
The operation ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday and involved 547 immigration officers, Bernama said. The sweep covered business areas, construction sites and vegetable farms across four zones in the hill region.
Many of the foreigners were arrested while packing vegetables. They had no chance to flee because they were unaware of the authorities’ presence. Immigration Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the operation had been planned a month earlier in response to community complaints.
“Intelligence showed us that this district has become a focal point for foreigners working alongside agricultural activities in surrounding areas,” he said. He added that the growing presence of foreign workers in the hill region in recent years has caused concern among local residents.
The area’s hilly terrain and distance from urban centers have made it attractive to foreigners, he said. The situation has been complicated by the willingness of many local businesses to hire foreign workers.
The operation checked the documents of 1,886 foreigners and resulted in 468 arrests. The charges included expired passes, lack of travel documents and, in some cases, presentation of temporary work passes suspected of being forged.
Among those arrested were 175 from Myanmar, 174 from Bangladesh, 67 from Indonesia, 20 from Nepal, 16 from Pakistan, 11 from India and one each from the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China and Cambodia.
The detainees include 388 men, 76 women and four children, ranging in age from 20 to 54. They will be sent to immigration detention depots in Kelantan, Perak and Selangor, authorities said.
According to immigration department figures, a total of 83,994 foreigners have been detained in nationwide operations from the start of this year through Nov. 18.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report