SANDAKAN: Eleven foreign women were picked up by the Sabah Immigration Department during a raid at an entertainment centre here.
Op Gegar began at 11.24pm and concluded within an hour. A Malaysian man and a Vietnamese national were also detained.
Sabah Immigration director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof said the operation was launched following public complaints about foreign nationals at the entertainment centre.
"The individuals are suspected of not having valid identification documents and of misusing their social visit passes by working at the centre," she said today.
She said 35 people were checked during the operation, with 12 foreigners detained over Immigration Act violations.
"We detained three Filipino women and nine Vietnamese nationals, aged 15 to 38."
The detained foreigners were taken to the Sandakan Immigration Depot for further investigation.
A 53-year-old Malaysian man was detained on suspicion of harbouring undocumented migrants.
He is being investigated under Section 55E and Section 56(1)(d) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
"This operation serves as a warning from the Immigration Department to the public against sheltering undocumented migrants as it may result in legal repercussions," said SH Sitti Saleha.
She stressed that employers hiring or protecting foreign nationals without valid documents would face the law.