Mustafar said the arrest of a 46-year-old local woman at a house in Jalan Kompleks Api-Api around noon yesterday led to the discovery of another RM1.45 million, after RM13.5 million was seized last Friday when the department arrested 17 individuals at a hotel and at an apartment in connection with the case.

The woman who was nabbed is believed to be the wife of one of the syndicate’s masterminds.

“The RM100 and RM50 notes were kept in a locked safe,” he told reporters after attending the Home Ministry’s monthly assembly, here, today.

He said so far, four of the syndicate’s masterminds had been arrested since the raids under “Op Gegar” were conducted.

Mustafar said the RM14.95 million was the biggest amount of cash seized in the Immigration Department’s history.

He said the investigation found that the hotel which was raided last Friday had been operating since 1999, with the syndicate using a spa as a front to hide the prostitution ring.

He said although a spa did not come under the jurisdiction of the Immigration Department, action had to be taken together with other enforcement agencies as the prostitution ring was using foreign migrants as workers.

“Besides collaborating with the police and local authority, we are also sharing information with the Inland Revenue Board and Companies Commission of Malaysia on the discovery of the money for further investigation towards solving the case,” he said.