Home minister Hamzah Zainudin said the immigration department has been instructed to continue searching for the escapees at locations which are known to have sizeable Rohingya populations, such as wholesale markets.

“We will continue to conduct raids until we apprehend the remaining 60 refugees who have not been found,” he said after witnessing a raid at the Meru central market here last night.

He said the operation would act as a reminder to the escapees’ friends that they should not offer them protection.

A total of 528 Rohingya refugees fled the temporary detention depot on April 20. Seven of them died in a road accident while attempting to cross a nearby highway.

Hamzah said a total of 704 people were checked during the Meru raid, of whom 637 had refugee status under the United Nations, while 51 others did not have valid documents.