Pekan Nanas depot on maximum security alert after Bidor breakout incident

JOHOR BARU: The authorities have heightened security measures at the Pekan Nanas Immigration Detention Centre in Pontian, Johor following the recent riot which saw more than 130 illegal immigrants flee the Bidor Temporary Immigration Depot in Perak.

Johor Immigration Department director Baharuddin Tahir said the heightened security was a precautionary measure to manage the possibility of detainees emulating the incident in Bidor.

"The Pekan Nanas Detention Centre is well-secured and guarded round the clock. I'm confident that detainees would not be able to escape.

"However, we decided to boost security levels as a precautionary measure," he said at a press conference at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex in the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI), here today.

The Pekan Nanas depot is the state's sole detention centre for illegal immigrants.

The depot, which can hold up to 1,250 detainees, currently houses 1,070 undocumented migrants including 20 Rohingya.

Baharuddin said there are 171 personnel stationed at the depot, with 40 on guard duty per shift.

Last Thursday, 131 illegal immigrants sparked a riot and broke out of the Bidor depot.

The authorities have still launched a manhunt for the escaped detainees, 75 of whom are still on the loose.