KUALA LUMPUR (BERNAMA) – Authorities apprehended a total of 229 men and 34 women at a disused hotel in Jalan Pasar Baharu, Pudu during the Op Noda operation on Thursday night.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Allaudeen Abdul Majid stated that the detainees, aged between their 20s and 40s, represented various nationalities including Chinese, Nepalese, Pakistani, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, and Indonesian, alongside locals.
At a subsequent press conference, he revealed that 20 of the apprehended women were engaged in prostitution, while the remaining individuals were immigrants who had been renting rooms at the hotel.
“The building in question is predominantly rented by immigrants and serves as a base for prostitution activities.
“The prostitutes solicit customers in the hotel lobby before taking them upstairs and charging between MYR50 to MYR100,” he said.
Allaudeen said police also detained 14 immigrant children, who would be taken to the Kuala Lumpur Contingent Police Headquarters for the documentation process.
“If they have documents, they will be released,” he said, adding that the detainees will also undergo drug screening.
The case will be investigated under Sections 186 and 372B of the Penal Code, Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, and Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, he added.
On a separate note, Allaudeen said Op Selamat 21 has identified 50 accident-prone locations around the capital.
“Therefore, I ask road users to be careful and drive safely to their hometowns,” he said.
