Police 'lock down' Selayang buildings, screen 1,435 foreigners
KUALA LUMPUR: A multi-agency raid led by federal police in Selayang saw two buildings "locked down" and 1,435 foreigners screened.
The vast majority of those screened were from Myanmar, while others were from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Nepal. Some 160 were children.
The raid, dubbed "Op Kachi", began at 10.45pm with 560 personnel, including those from the General Operations Force, Immigration Department, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, and Civil Defence Force, closing off all entry and exit points in Selayang Utara.
Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department deputy director (General Operations Force) Datuk Mohamad Suzrin Mohamad Rodhi said 225 residential and business units in the two shoplot buildings were raided.
"The operation was conducted following two weeks of surveillance based on complaints over the high number of undocumented foreigners in the area.
"When we sprang into action last night, some of them even tried to evade our checks by climbing onto rooftops to hide," he told reporters at the scene today.
Of those screened, 1,222 were from Myanmar, followed by Bangladesh (142), India (9), Indonesia (4), and Nepal (1).
Suzrin said the Myanmar nationals comprised 702 men, 360 women, and 160 children. Many of them were Rohingya holding United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.
He added that the Immigration Department would verify the authenticity of the UNHCR cards.
"I've been told that a number of them have been flagged, as scans of their cards yielded negative results.
"They will be brought to the Immigration Department office in Putrajaya for further checks," he said.
A number of foreigners were subsequently detained, though details were not immediately available.
Suzrin said they would also be taking further action against those found employing foreigners without proper permits, as well as individuals providing shelter to undocumented migrants.
He added that personnel from the Energy Commission, National Water Services Commission (SPAN), and Tenaga Nasional Berhad who joined the raid also uncovered illegal renovations and unauthorised water and electricity connections in the buildings.
"Various offences have been detected under the Electricity Supply Act, Street, Drainage and Building Act, and Local Government Act. Further investigations and enforcement action will be taken by the relevant authorities," he said.
This is the second time Bukit Aman has launched a crackdown by locking down an entire area known to be populated by foreigners.
In December 2023, over 1,000 officers and members of the GOF surrounded the "Mini Dhaka" area in Jalan Silang.
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