3,014 illegal immigrants, 57 employers detained in e-card Ops Mega

A total of 3,014 illegal immigrants and 57 employers were detained by the Immigration Department during the E-Card Ops Mega carried out since last July until 8 am today.

Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said 180 employers were also issued notices to present themselves at the department to record their statements.

He said the illegal immigrants who were detained comprised 1,160 Bangladeshi nationals, Indonesians (695), Myanmarese (231), Vietnamese (116), Thais (111), Filipinos (95) and the remaining from other countries.

"A total of 2,429 of them are men, women (570) and children (15)," he said in a statement here Monday.

He said the illegal immigrants were among 9,302 people rounded up in 502 operations conducted during the period.

Mustafar said employers found to employ illegal immigrants would not only face charges under the Immigration Act, but also for offences under the Anti-Trafficking In Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act, if there was an element of forced labour or exploitation.

The department, he said, would continue to carry out operations against illegal immigrants, as well as hunt down errant employers.

"The department has given ample time for employers to register their workers who are illegal immigrants (under the E-Card programme), but they did not take the opportunity to do so," he added.

-- BERNAMA