KLANG, July 27 — The Immigration Department has carried out 7,105 operations, involving 96,994 inspections and the detention of 41,596 illegal immigrants nationwide as of July 15, its director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said.

He said enforcement under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, Anti-Restricted Activity Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 will continue to be strengthened to ensure compliance with the Immigration Act 1959/63.

“We will use all powers provided under the law to ensure that those involved in illegal activities and other offences are taught a lesson, especially those who are still at large.

“This shows that we will continue to take firm action without any compromise. We do not want immigration-related offences to continue becoming a cancer in our country, and that is what we are doing,” he told reporters after inspecting an integrated enforcement operation at the Kapar Bestari Industrial Park here today.

Commenting on the operation, Zakaria said 58 foreign nationals, aged between 20 and 45, were detained during raids on two electronic waste (e-waste) processing factories in the area.

He said the integrated operation, which began at about 11 am, involved 77 officers and personnel from the Immigration Department, the Labour Department and the Department of Environment.

“At this stage, all 58 have been detained as they were unable to produce valid identification documents. It is possible that their documents are being held by their employer, so we will detain them first and then liaise with the employer to determine their immigration status.

“Based on our operations, we found that the premises were equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to monitor movements, particularly the presence of enforcement officers in the vicinity. This allowed them to hide or flee before enforcement personnel arrived, and that is the common modus operandi we encounter,” he said. — Bernama