CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Nov 9 — The Immigration Department’s ‘Ops Gempak dan Mesra’ crackdown in seven locations in Cameron Highlands today netted 181 illegal immigrants.

Its principal assistant director (Control Division) Datuk Sakib Kusmi said the seven locations were Ringlet, Lembah Bertam, Tanah Rata, Brinchang, Kampung Raja, Tringkap and Kuala Terla.

“In the operation, 581 foreigners were screened and 181 were detained for not possessing valid travel documents.

“The illegals were from Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh,” he told reporters in Tanah Rata here.

He said the operation today focused on road side traders and food outlet workers and that they were keeping close tabs to weed out illegal workers at farms and estates.

He added that those detained would be sent to an immigration depot in Terengganu for processing.

According to him, the department’s records as of last October showed there 11,016 foreign workers legally employed in the highlands, with most of them working in the agriculture, services, plantation, construction and manufacturing sectors.

The operation comes in the wake of the floods and landslides disaster in the highlands on Wednesday, which left five people dead, including foreign workers. — Bernama