AN Indonesian construction contractor jumped from the fourth floor of a shophouse in a bid to escape arrest by the Immigration Department during Op Kutip at Hentian Jalan Reko, Kajang, which started at midnight last night.

The 27-year-old man injured his right leg when he crashed into a zinc awning on the second floor of the premises, before falling to the ground and trying to escape to nearby bushes but could not do so due to pain.

He said he was afraid of being caught because his passport had expired in December.

“I entered Malaysia three years ago and my passport expired in December last year. I was afraid and tried to run away,” he told reporters.

He was among 175 people detained in the operation covering 134 apartments in six blocks.

Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud, who participated in the operation, said a total of 425 foreigners were screened and all those arrested were between two and 55 years old, consisting of 132 men,41 women, and a boy and a girl.

“There were 115 Myanmar nationals, 33 Indonesians, nine Nepalis, four Sri Lankans, 13 Bangladeshis and one Indian,” he told a press conference after the operation.

Khairul said the migrants had been working as cleaners, and restaurant and factory workers.

“The detainees also involved asylum seekers from Myanmar (Shan ethnic group) who have United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) cards and already have families here,” he said.

In addition, Khairul said one residential was used as an online gambling centre, but the suspects managed to escape through a window.

“There were about 20 laptops inside the unit, while there was a CCTV camera installed outside the entrance,” he said.

He said most of the Indonesians arrested were found to have entered the country through Johor, while those from Myanmar had come across the border into Kedah.

He said the migrants were then taken to Semenyih Immigration Detention Centre. – Bernama, August 9, 2022.