Immigration director Khairul Dzaimee Daud said 16 foreign women – 13 Vietnamese and three Thai nationals between 22 to 35 – were detained in the raid on Thursday, while seven local men, consisting of customers and carwash workers, were served with notices to record their statements.

He said investigations revealed that there where were two double-storey shoplots next to each other, where one displayed a carwash signboard to distract the authorities, while the other was only opened to regular customers for sex services from 4pm to midnight.

“From the surveillance carried out, the premises appeared to have poor business and looked unfrequented. However, upon entering the building, it was discovered there were many ‘entertainment options’ on offer with escorts (GROs).

“The syndicate used Whatsapp or Telegram chat applications to get its customers,” he said in a statement today.

He said all the foreign citizens who were detained either did not have identification papers, had overstayed or were in violation of the Immigration Act, and would be held at Semenyih immigration detention centre in Selangor for further investigation.