68 illegals detained during Ops Gasak in Lahad Datu

LAHAD DATU: A total of 68 illegal immigrants, including 24 children, were rounded up in an integrated operation named Ops Gasak coordinated by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) at two different locations here, yesterday.

ESSCom commander, DCP Datuk Hazani Ghazali, said, the 5-hour operation began at 3.45 am and was focused on the squatter villages and town areas suspected of being the hiding places of the illegal immigrants.

Among the locations targeted during the Ops Gasak were Kampung Ipil area and the public market area.

Hazani said, during the operation, 156 persons were inspected and taken to temporary documentation inspection centre manned by the Immigration Department.

"After a screening process, 88 persons were found to have identification documents while 68 were detained for not having valid documents. All the illegals, comprising 43 men and 25 women (14 boys and ten girls), aged between 4 and 54 years old, were from the Philippines and Indonesia," he said in a statement.

According to Hazani, all those arrested were then taken to the Tawau Temporary Detention Centre for documentation process and investigation under the Immigration Act 1959/63.

Hazani added that during the operation, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) personnel disconnected electricity supply to 40 houses in Kampung Ipil found with illegal connections.

He said the operation, which aims to flush out the illegal immigrants that reportedly contributed to the increasing number of criminal cases, was carried out jointly with 218 members of the Police, Army, MMEA, Immigration and SESB.

Hazani added that the operation was also aimed at tracking down the remaining informer said to have masterminded the kidnapping for ransom cases and cross border crimes.

ESSCom mobilizing its forces in large scale and in combination with various agencies, he said, shows the high level of readiness of our security forces especially in combating cross border crimes and kidnapping for ransom.