Inspection found foreign women offering sexual services at RM30 for 15 minutes. Pix courtesy of Immigration Department

KUALA LUMPUR: To evade detection by the authorities, a number of brothels here have taken to serve only foreigners and deploy tontos (informers) to guard entry points at its premises.

The tontos will use a walkie-talkie to communicate with workers in the premises on any “suspicious movement” to avoid from being discovered.

However, on Friday, they were outsmarted by the Immigration Department’s Intelligence, Special Operation and Analysis Division.

Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said three brothels and a reflexology and spa centre were uncovered by the team conducting Ops Gegar around Klang Valley at 2.30pm.

“Initial intelligence found the brothel only served foreigners to avoid being detected by the authorities. Tontos will guard every entrance and is placed at the top of the building to monitor the appearance of the enforcement officers.

“They (Tontos) will use walkie-talkie to alert those in the premises. The tontos were already aware of our presence; hence they had locked the building. My men forced open the door to carry out the raid and inspection,” he said in a statement today.

Mustafar said the foreign women and men, who believed were the workers and customers, also attempted to jump off the building and tried escaping via the rooftop.

“We also found a safe room in the premises which they used to hide when enforcement officers come.

“The room was locked from the inside and was painted the same colour as the wall,” he said.

He said inspection found foreign women offering sexual services at RM30 for 15 minutes.

“Malaysian women were also found to provide sexual service to only foreigners at RM50 for 15 minutes.

“A total of 69 foreigners – 53 women and 16 men – comprising workers, caretakers and tontos were arrested; while 11 Malaysians – six men and five women – were also detained to facilitate investigation,” he said.

He said a second raid was conducted at an entertainment outlet Damansara Utama.

“During the operation, 10 guest relation officers from Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand as well as a Bangladeshi bartender, who failed to show valid identification document, were nabbed.

“In general, the female foreigners came in the country using social visit pass, domestic worker permit and student visa, with which they had abused the documents,” he said.

A total of RM1,213 cash were seized during the raids.

He said among the offences found include overstaying, no valid documentations, and abuse of pass and permits, which are violations under Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966 and Immigration Regulations 1963.

He added the foreigners detained have been placed at Bukit Jalil immigration detention centre for further action.

Source : NST online