Illegal firearms workshop exposed in Immigration check

PETALING JAYA: An Immigration check on a kongsi in Kelantan found not only illegal foreign workers but an illegal workshop for making firearms.

Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said Immigration officers made the find during Ops Kutip on Sunday.

He said the department handed over the case to Kelantan police for further action.

Mustafar said the illegal workshop was next to a kongsi in Kemahang 2 that was harbouring more than 15 illegal workers.

He added that the kongsi was managed by a renowned plantation company in Malaysia.

He disclosed that this was not the first time firearms were found during operations.

“This shows that foreigners are not just in Malaysia illegally but they are also a threat to security.”

Mustafar said in his statement yesterday that his personnel found tools used to make firearms, a container containing ball bearings believed to be used as bullets, a completed rifle and three that were still being assembled.

The operation was led by Kelantan Immigration director Wan Mohammed Saupee Wan Yusoff with 22 personnel as a result of a tip-off and intelligence gathering by the department about foreign workers in the area.

During the raid, the documents of 84 foreign workers were inspected on-site, after which 52 were taken back to the Immigration office in Kota Baru for failing to produce their passport and documents.

Mustafar said 15 of them had either overstayed or did not have a valid pass under the Immigration Act, adding that they were from Indonesia and Bangladesh.

On a related operation earlier, he said two workers, a Pakistani and a Thai were also arrested for overstaying or not having a valid permit.

Mustafar said two summonses were issued to the employer.

He added that all those arrested, including a woman, were aged between 21 and 44 and were being held at the Tanah Merah Immigration Depot under the Act.

He urged those with information on illegal foreigners to come forward.