The settlement comprised 20 to 30 houses of undocumented migrants which had been there for the past four years.

Utusan reported that the raid not only turned up houses, but also five sundry shops selling packets of subsidised cooking oil, and poultry coops set up to sustain the migrant community.

A Rohingya man named Amir said he paid a local RM300 in monthly rent for a room there, and that he had moved in after being invited by a fellow Myanmar national working in the area.

“I have been in Malaysia for 10 years, and am now married with three children. I wash dishes for RM50 a day. I used to work as a cleaner for RM1,000 a month but was let go,” he said.

The operation, which started at 12.30am and ended at 2.30am, was a joint effort between the General Operations Force, police, Civil Defence Force, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, and national registration department.

In a Facebook post, immigration department director-general Ruslin Jusoh said 123 foreign nationals from Myanmar, Indonesia and India were inspected.

They comprised 95 Myanmar nationals – including 14 boys and 18 girls with their mothers, most of whom were believed to be Rohingya – as well as 21 Indian nationals and seven Indonesians.

He said the 21 Indian nationals had just returned from work, and were found to have valid work permits.

Ruslin said the main offences detected were a lack of passports, expired work passes, and overstaying.

He said the migrants paid around RM400 a month in rent to a local who also supplied them with electricity.

He said his department would work with other agencies to identify the person renting the land, and to curb the issue of foreign nationals “flooding” the capital.