KUALA LUMPUR: Police conducted a raid on a budget hotel in Bukit Bintang suspected to be a hub for foreign women engaged in prostitution.
Dang Wangi police chief Assistant Commissioner Noor Dellhan Yahaya said that the raid, carried out at 8.30pm yesterday, was based on intelligence indicating prostitution activities in the Bukit Bintang area.
During the operation, police apprehended 16 foreign women from an African country, aged between 21 and 40 years old.
They also seized 40 condoms, 10 tubes of lubricant gel, seven rolls of tissue paper, 14 mobile phones, and RM800 in cash.
"The case is under investigation under Section 372B of the Penal Code and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63," he said in a statement today.
Noor Dellhan said that no travel documents were found, and all detainees would be remanded for further investigations.
"Initial findings indicate that this prostitution activity involved foreign nationals utilising a budget hotel rented on a daily basis," he added.
He said the suspects would solicit clients on the streets and subsequently bring them to hotel rooms for sexual services, charging around RM100 per service.
"The foreign women frequently changed hotels to evade detection by authorities, catering to customers that included both foreign nationals and locals," he explained.
He urged the public to report any illegal activities, and any information can be directed to the Dang Wangi police headquarters at 03-26002222 or any nearby police station.