UPDATING: Hamfatullah (left) briefs the media on its integrated operation in Bintulu as Musa looks on.
NABBED: Immigration Department personnel escorting the 34 illegal immigrants to the temporary detention centre.
BINTULU: A total of 78 illegal immigrants were detained by the Immigration Department in two operations under ‘Ops Selera’ yesterday.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference at its branch office, its deputy state director Hamfatullah Syawal Hamdan said the first raid was of six outlets in the service sector around Bintulu town, while the second raid was at the construction site in Tg Kidurong.
He said 44 foreigners without valid documents were detained in an operation conducted from 7pm to 12.30am on Tuesday.
“All the detainees, mostly from Indonesia, were aged 19 to 45,” Hamfatullah said, adding that the joint operation involved 34 Immigration personnel from Kuching and Bintulu under 6B Integrated Operation statewide. The ops also involves Rela, police, PGA and JPAM.
Another 34 illegal foreigners from Indonesia and Myanmar were detained in a raid of a construction site in Tg Kidurong around 12.30pm yesterday.
“This is a continuous operation conducted statewide since its launch on Sept 1 and for the record, some 420 illegal immigrants have been detained in Sarawak under a series of operations.
“The majority detained are Indonesians working in various sectors, mostly in the service sector,” he added.
He called on employees in the state, especially in Bintulu, to cooperate by registering their workers to get temporary working permits.
“Most of the illegal immigrants arrested during the operations have no valid working permits, and we believe there are still many of them out there,” he said.
Hamfatullah urged the public to work closely with the Immigration Department by providing information that leads to the arrest of illegal immigrants.
“The identity of our informers will be kept secret so if you have information, please come forward,” he said.
The first series of operation in Bintulu was led by Immigration Department enforcement chief Kamarul Johari, assisted by its Bintulu branch chief Musa Rambli.