ABOUT 1,000 undocumented migrants were arrested by authorities in a morning raid early this morning in the areas surrounding the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market in Selayang, said immigration sources.

They told The Malaysian Insight that more than 1,200 foreigners in the areas were checked, including Rohingya who were working and living near the market.

“For now, we have arrested 1,000 of them. Those with refugee cards from UNHCR have been released,” a source said.

Meanwhile, a trader at the market said most of those arrested were from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Myanmar.

This morning, more than 150 personnel from multiple agencies, led by the Immigration Department, took part in the raid, which began about 6am. Some were seen wearing personal protective equipment.

Some of these places are still under the enhanced movement-control order (EMCO).

Traders were also told to close this morning, one had told The Malaysian Insight.

On May 3, the government partially lifted the EMCO imposed on Pusat Bandar Utara in Selayang and the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market. Some areas are under lockdown till tomorrow, following Health Ministry advice.

“The EMCO on Parcels A and B, involving Jalan 6/3A and 9/3A, Pusat Bandar Utara, and the wholesale market ended on May 3,” senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said.

“However, the EMCO on Parcels C, D, E and F has been extended until May 12, upon ministry advice.”

The authorities have discovered a high concentration of foreigners, most of them workers at the wholesale market, in the locked-down areas. – May 11, 2020.