Deputy Home Minister Masir Kujat, who took part in the operation, said the illegals were held for various offences, including not having identification documents, abusing their social visit passes and overstaying.

“In the operation beginning 8pm,120 Immigration personnel checked about 150 premises and screened more than 500 foreign workers from Indonesia, Myanmar and Bangladesh,” he told reporters after the operation.

The illegals will be sent to the Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Depot for further investigations, he added.

Between January 1 and March 15, a total of 2,418 operations were carried out and 42,605 foreigners, screened.

Of the total, he said 12,473 illegal immigrants, 276 employers and two agents were detained.

The illegals comprised 4,003 Indonesians, Bangladeshis (2,936), Filipinos (1,736), Myanmar (1,244), Thais (504), Nepalese (481), Vietnamese (426), Pakistanis (408) with the rest from other countries.

-BERNAMA