KUALA LUMPUR: An Indonesian man was detained by the Immigration Department moments after he took to social media to warn other immigrants who had entered Malaysia illegally.
The man had been filming immigration officers as they loaded undocumented immigrants into a truck following an operation conducted by the department.
However, one of the enforcement officers noticed his actions and detained him for further investigation.
The Indonesian man was among 51 foreigners detained by the Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department during a raid on a flat in Segambut earlier today.
Its director Wan Mohammed Saupee Wan Yusoff said the operation was conducted following public complaints about illegal immigrants in the area.
"Following about 2 weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance, we raided the SPPK Segambut flats here at around 12.15am.
"During the raid, we checked 38 units involving 158 foreigners," he told reporters at the scene today.
The illegal immigrants detained during the raid comprised 40 Bangladeshis, six Indonesians, four Nepalese, and a Pakistani man.
"Our checks revealed the majority of those detained either overstayed or did not have valid passes or permits to be in Malaysia.
"We believe these illegals were renting apartments here for between RM800 and RM1,000."
Some of them were also paying about RM200 per head for housing here," he said adding that his personnel will identify the premise owners to facilitate further action for providing shelter to illegal immigrants.
During the raid, one of the Bangladeshis detained could be heard pleading for his wife to be released.
"Please brother, we are planning to go back to our homeland next month. We are only waiting for our leave to be approved.
"Our flight tickets have already been purchased.
"My wife came via a spouse pass but it expired a month ago. We just want to go back together," he was heard pleading with the officers at the scene.
Wan Mohammed Saupee advised those who were in Malaysia illegally to register under the Migrant Repatriation Programme.
"We will be redoubling our enforcement efforts to identify and detain those here illegally," he said.