As many as 198 undocumented foreigners, including 148 Bangladeshis, were detained during an immigration raid at a workers’ accommodation in USJ 23 here early Saturday, with some suspects reportedly jumping into a nearby mining pool in a desperate attempt to evade arrest.

The raid was conducted at about 1:55 am at a condominium construction site workers’ quarters and involved officers from the Selangor and Putrajaya Immigration Departments, the National Registration Department (JPN), National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) and Civil Defence Force (APM).

When immigration officers arrived, several foreigners attempted to flee. Some, wearing only sarongs, jumped into a nearby mining pool to avoid detention.

Members of the enforcement team later persuaded them to come out of the water and detained them.

Several others were also found hiding under beds in an attempt to escape the operation.

The two-storey workers’ accommodation was found to be in an untidy and unhygienic condition, with unsafe electrical connections. It also contained a grocery shop, kitchen and canteen.

Among those detained was an Indonesian woman in her 40s, who said she had been living at the premises and working as a cleaner.

She said she earned RM55 a day and had worked there for about a year.

“I came to Malaysia by air with my passport, but my passport has now expired,” she said.

Selangor Immigration Department deputy director (Enforcement), Mohammad Khusairi Kamaruddin, said 385 individuals were screened during the operation, resulting in the detention of 198 people, including nine women, for various immigration offences.

He said those detained were aged between 18 and 50.

Preliminary checks showed that the detainees comprised 148 Bangladeshis, 28 Myanmar nationals, 20 Indonesians, and one each from Nepal and Pakistan.

They were detained for alleged offences including failure to possess valid identification documents, violating the conditions of their passes and overstaying in Malaysia.

Mohammad Khusairi said the Immigration Department would continue operations to identify, detain, prosecute and deport foreigners found violating the country’s immigration laws.

He also urged members of the public and employers not to provide shelter or protection to undocumented migrants and to report information on such individuals to the Immigration Department.

Investigations into the detainees are being conducted under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and Immigration Regulations 1963.