950805

Malaysia

detains 29,983

illegal immigrants

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia detained 29,983 illegal immigrants in the first seven months of the year, officials say.

The undocumented foreigners were picked up by the government task force on illegal immigration in two major operations in and around Kuala Lumpur, according to Ahmad Bakhtiar Sulaiman, who heads the enforcement agency.

Ahmad Bakhtiar said most of them were detained in raids on worker's dormitories at construction sites and factory areas in and around the capital.

He told reporters Friday that of the immigrants detained, 18,458 had been deported, and the rest had either produced valid work permits or would be sent home soon.

At the end of last month, there were 8,279 illegal immigrants still being detained at eight detention centers nationwide, he said.

Those detained were mostly from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand and the Philippines, he added.-AFP