KUALA LUMPUR: A major Immigration Department operation in Negeri Sembilan and Selangor led to the arrest of 117 people and the crippling of two prostitution syndicates.
The operation, which saw raids in seven areas around Seremban and Seri Kembangan on Wednesday and Thursday, was carried out after two weeks of surveillance by the authorities.
The 117 arrested include 32 men and 85 women of varying nationalities.
"During the raids, some of the women hid in secret rooms," Immigration Department director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said in a statement.
"There were also foreign customers and locals who tried to provoke immigration officers, but they (officers) managed to control the situation."
The authorities also seized one mobile phone, one tablet, 41 passports and RM7,055 in cash.
Ruslin said the syndicates would offer massages and other services to local and foreign customers.
The customers would visit a premise and "select" a woman based on a catalogue and give them a sash.
They would need to pay between RM400 to RM900 for an hour with the woman of their choice and pay via cash or online.
Once the transaction is made the woman would be "handed over" to the customer.
Of the men arrested, 10 are Malaysian, Bangladeshi (18), Vietnamese (3), and Nepali (1).
The Malaysians, aged 27 to 63 are suspected of managing the premises.
A total of 48 women are from Vietnam, followed by Indonesians (34) and Bangladeshi (3).
All the foreigners are aged between 15 and 53 years old.
Ruslin said only 19 of the foreigners have valid travel documents. The remainder have expired visas or have no valid travel documents.
All the foreigners were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Immigration Act, Passport Act and Immigration Regulations.
They are being detained at the Lenggeng and Bukit Jalil immigration depots
The 10 Malaysians are being held under Sections 56 (1) (d) and 55E of the Immigration Act for harbouring a person who has contravened the Immigration Act and allowing undocumented migrants to stay in a premise they have control over.
Ruslin said the Immigration Department will continue taking action against those who flout the law.