The Immigration Department has arrested 184 illegal migrant workers during a raid at a battery factory in the Nilai area of ​​Negeri Sembilan state, Malaysia.

In this operation conducted on Wednesday morning, workers from different countries were detained on charges of various irregularities under immigration laws.

State Immigration Department Director Kenneth Tan Ai Kiang said the detainees included 163 men and 21 women. They are nationals of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan and Indonesia, aged between 20 and 49.

A total of 219 foreign workers were checked in the nearly four-hour operation, of which 184 were detained.

The director said the operation was conducted based on complaints from locals – who were accused of working without permission and staying without valid identity cards.

He said that during the operation, some foreign workers hid behind power supplies and in piles of factory goods. However, all were eventually arrested.

The detainees have been detained at the Lenggeng Immigration Detention Centre in Negeri Sembilan and are being investigated and legal action is being taken against them.

The campaign is part of the Immigration Department’s ongoing efforts to reduce the number of unauthorized foreign workers in the Malaysian labor market.