KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — Seven foreigners have been arrested by the authorities for various immigration offences following the ongoing Ops Benteng so far, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

Ismail Sabri said a total of 43,598 vehicles were screened throughout 68 roadblocks set up nationwide aimed at curbing the illegal entry of undocumented migrants through the use of ‘rat trails’.

The ongoing "Ops Benteng” is aimed at stopping the entry of undocumented migrants to safeguard the country from cross-border crimes and to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

On standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance throughout the recovery movement control order (RMCO), Ismail Sabri said 70,190 checks were conducted nationwide involving supermarkets, restaurants, factories, hawkers, banks and government agencies.

"The authorities also arrested 29 individuals for flouting the SOP. Of that amount, eight have been remanded while 21 were issued compounds,” he said.

Meanwhile the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) also found nine construction sites to be adhering to the SOP during routine checks conducted nationwide yesterday.

Ismail Sabri said the cumulative number of construction sites observing the SOP is 2,981 sites whereas 525 sites were warned for disregarding the SOP.