A total of 490 undocumented foreigners, including Bangladeshis, were apprehended on Thursday in a joint operation led by the police in an apartment complex on Jalan Aman Perdana, dubbed “Mini Dhaka”.

The operation was conducted by the Bukit Aman Anti-Vice, Gambling, and Secret Societies Division (D7), the General Operations Force (PGA), and the Selangor Immigration Department.

The Harian Metro journalist, who accompanied the operation at 2:30am, found that the five-storey complex surrounded by industrial area was occupied by foreign workers from Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Indonesia employed in nearby factories.

Some undocumented foreigners were found running grocery shops and selling products from their home countries to meet foreign nationals’ demands in the said apartments.

Around 300 armed police officers and personnel cordoned off the residential area before raiding and inspecting four out of the eight blocks in the involved apartments.

It is understood that the police conducted surveillance and investigation for about a month in the area following complaints and information from the public regarding the influx of undocumented foreigners.

Most of the undocumented foreigners were asleep and unable to flee during the operation, but there were attempts by some to climb roofs and jump into ditches to evade capture.

An inspection of several residences of the undocumented foreigners found that most of them lived with five to six individuals in a household. During the raid, some of them were even found sleeping in the kitchen area.

Some of the undocumented foreigners admitted to working in nearby factories and renting accommodation in the area. Some employers were also found renting houses in the area for their workers.

Local resident Wong, in his 40s, said the area has been flooded with undocumented foreigners for several years, but he claimed that they did not pose any problems.

"They are indeed numerous here, sometimes it feels like they are more than us (locals) here, but I'm not sure about their exact numbers.

"They usually don't disturb the locals, but the problem is they tend to be a bit untidy, that's the only issue for me," he said when interviewed at the raid location.

Based on preliminary information, those detained include people from Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Indonesia, mainly for overstaying, lacking valid travel documents, and other offences.

All the undocumented foreigners, aged between 20 and 50, are expected to be taken to the Semenyih Immigration Depot after the documentation process is completed.