Three Thai women were among 25 alleged sex workers arrested by Malaysian police following raids at a condominium and a hotel in Puchong in Selangor.
The operation codenamed “Ops Gegar” was conducted by 21 Immigration officers at about 5pm on August 26.
Immigration department director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said 20 of the foreign women were Indonesians and two were Vietnamese. The 25 suspects were aged between 18 and 47.
“We also detained two local men who were the caretakers of the premises,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Initial investigations revealed that the foreign women dressed like locals to attract customers, he said.
“One of the foreign women detained is suspected to be the “mummy”, or the one in charge of managing them.
“The 28-year-old woman was detained at the condominium,” he said.
Various items were seized including 9,325 ringgit (around 76,000 baht) in cash, condoms, lubricants and a log book recording workers’ attendance and the list of customers, Khairul Dzaimee said.
“Customers interested in getting the syndicate’s services would communicate via WhatsApp.
“They will then be given a code word to enter the premises,” he said.
Customers were charged 240 ringgit to book a woman for sex, Khairul Dzaimee Daud.
“The women would work from 11am until 4am at the hotel.
“Those who were sick would stay in the condominium under the care of the mummy. They were confined there until they recovered,” he said.
The condominium was also used as a transit point for women who arrived from Indonesia or Thailand before they were sent to the hotel to work as prostitutes, he said.
“We believe the syndicate has been operating for almost two years. The foreign women entered Malaysia using social visit passes,” he added.
The department will tighten security at the country’s borders and perform more stringent checks on travel documents of tourist arrivals, Khairul Dzaimee said.
“Those detained were brought to Putrajaya Immigration office for further investigation,” he said.
The Star
Asia News Network