NABBED: This man was injured while trying to escape. Pics: HUSSEIN SHAHARUDDIN

CAUGHT: Some of the illegals held in the Shah Alam raid this morning

The raid, which started at 2am, was conducted by the Immigration Department from Seksyen 7. The operation saw illegal workers scurrying all over place to avoid detention.

"Our mission is to send back those without relevant documents as we have received several complaints from residents. The best time for such an operation is during their sleeping hours and I'm proud to say this operation has been successful," said State deputy assistant director of Immigration Department, Johari Supardi.

"Among the 48 Indonesia, Bangladesh and India nationals we inspected, only 15 proved to be legit while the rest — 28 men, four women and one child — were undocumented.

They were aged between 23 to 45 years," he said.

Johari told The Malay Mail its 30 officers were separated into three groups and stationed at three different points to prevent the immigrants from escaping.

However, one Indonesian immigrant tried his luck to escape but ended up getting his pants torn off, exposing himself, while a Bangladeshi ended up with a bloody face after running through a metal plank.

The immigrants were later sent to Lenggeng Immigration depot. The operation finished at 4am.

Meanwhile, Johari said that summons will be issued against employers found guilty of hiring undocumented workers.

"If proven guilty, employers will be charged under the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Revised 2002) where they will need to pay a fine of RM5,000 per illegal worker. Should they fail to do so, they can be whipped five times or
charged RM10,000," he said.

Similar operations are carried out on a daily basis.

"We are trying our best to resolve this problem by tripling our effort to track down illegals and send them back to their country. We conduct up to 10 operations daily, acting upon complaints," he said.

Johari added in Selangor alone, more than 1,000 complaints are lodged by members of parliament, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the public.