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A total of 472 foreign nationals were detained during a multi-agency operation at Lebuh Pudu in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (13 September).
The operation, dubbed Op Bersepadu Mega, began around 11am and involved checks on roughly 2,500 foreign nationals in the area.
Kuala Lumpur Immigration director Datuk Hamsha Injau said those detained comprised 439 men and 33 women, aged between 18 and 62.
They were nationals from Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Philippines, Nepal, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, China, Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia.
All 472 will be sent to the Bukit Jalil Immigration Depot for investigation and further action.
Offences And Chaotic Scenes
Hamsha said the offences included not possessing valid identification documents, overstaying, and using unrecognised documents, among other breaches under the Immigration Act.
The New Straits Times reported that some foreign nationals tried to escape, locked themselves inside premises, and struggled with enforcement officers as the operation unfolded.
Several locked business premises and workers’ hostels had to be forced open before officers could conduct checks.
Hamsha said the area was targeted following repeated public complaints, including from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), about the large presence of foreign nationals and premises suspected of operating illegally.
He said business premises suspected of illegal operations will be investigated separately by DBKL, while the Immigration Department’s focus was on pass misuse, overstaying, and undocumented workers.
He added that most of the 2,500 people screened held valid travel documents or work permits and were released.
Asked whether Lebuh Pudu should still be described as “Mini Dhaka,” Hamsha did not deny the label, saying the area draws large numbers of foreign nationals from other states over weekends to shop and work.
Illegal Clinics Also Uncovered
The operation involved 337 personnel – 218 Immigration officers and 119 from other agencies including DBKL, the Fire and Rescue Department, the Companies Commission of Malaysia, the domestic trade ministry, the National Registration Department, and the Health Ministry.
Separately, the Health Ministry said it detected four premises selling and storing unregistered medicines during the raid, with two believed to be illegal clinics.
Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Health Department Pharmacy Enforcement Branch head Shafilliza Samsuri said the premises operated under the guise of textile shops and travel agencies.
She said patients were taken to a back room for blood pressure and blood sugar checks before being given medicine that had not received ministry approval.
Hamsha said the public can continue to report immigration violations through the department’s official channels.
A Permanent Fixture, Not a Surprise
To anyone who knows Kuala Lumpur, the high number of foreign nationals found at Lebuh Pudu was hardly shocking.
The area has been a major hub for migrant workers for decades – long before Sunday’s raid made headlines.
Three things keep drawing them back, week after week.
First, the location: Lebuh Pudu sits right next to major bus stops and the Masjid Jamek LRT station, making it one of the easiest spots in the city to reach from anywhere in Selangor or beyond.
For foreign workers whose only day off is Sunday, it is the natural place to meet friends from back home.
Second, the businesses: over the past 20 to 30 years, the shops along this stretch quietly transformed to serve this crowd – remittance centres for sending money home, grocery stores stocking ingredients from Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal, and restaurants serving food that actually tastes like home.
Third, the housing: The upper floors of the old shophouses lining the street are notorious for being carved up into dozens of tiny rooms.
It is cheap, central, and within walking distance of everything a migrant worker needs – which is exactly why so many end up living there.
The raid exposed what was hidden, but the crowd itself was never a secret.
READ MORE: Malaysia Says Myanmar Will Take Back 5,000 Rohingya, A Penang NGO Has One Question: Then What?
READ MORE: UNHCR Card Does Not Exempt Rohingyas From Immigration Laws, Says Immigration
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