PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department has busted a syndicate supplying foreign women for sex services and arrested 72 foreigners in special operations conducted in five locations around Cheras and Kepong on Thursday.
Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the operations started at 9 pm, involving officers of various ranks from the Immigration Headquarters’ Intelligence and Special Operations Division in Putrajaya.
Ruslin added, the operations were conducted based on information and intelligence work on the syndicate’s activities in a month.
“Also arrested were seven local men who acted as ‘captains’ and caretakers of the premises,” he said in a statement today.
He also mentioned when they raided the five premises, 72 foreigners were arrested among them 43 Vietnamese women, 15 Indonesian women, six Thai women aged 25 to 42, four Vietnamese men, three Bangladeshi men and an Indian man.
Ruslin said, the initial inspection found that they committed various offences including not possessing valid travel documents, expired social visit passes and misuse of passes. The detained foreign women were believed to have provided sex services to customers.
He added, the operations had seized 48 Vietnamese passports and a grey SUV-type vehicle believed to be used to send foreign women to places chosen by customers. Cash money RM6, 275 believed to be from the payment for services offered was also seized.
“It was also found that this syndicate had been operating in a three-storey building premises with the first floor as a living quarter while the second and third floors used as places for sex services,” Ruslin said.
He said the modus operandi of the syndicate is that customers who want to get the services will deal through WhatsApp application and will be given a password to enter the premises and the foreign women’s bookings are charged RM230 per hour.
He said the syndicate was believed to have been operating for almost two years and advertised sex services on social media groups including WhatsApp and Telegram.
Meanwhile 20 local men who are customers at the premises have been issued notices to appear to give statements to assist in the investigation.
All foreigners detained were sent to Semenyih Immigration Depot for action and further investigation for alleged offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966 and the Immigration Regulations 1963 and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM).
