In a statement, immigration director-general Ruslin Jusoh said a raid was conducted on June 15 in which 72 foreigners were arrested. He added that the raid was based on information gathered from surveillance of the five premises, with the help of the police.

The detainees included four Vietnamese men, three Bangladeshi men, one Indian man, 43 Vietnamese women, 15 Indonesian women and six Thai women. They were aged 25 to 42.

“The syndicate is believed to have operated for nearly two years and advertised the sexual services on various social media platforms,” he said, adding that clients communicated with the syndicate through WhatsApp and were provided passwords to enter the premises.

According to Ruslin, the syndicate operated out of a three-storey building, where the first floor served as the living quarters, while the upper floors were for use by the clients who paid for the sexual services.

He said preliminary investigations revealed that the foreigners either did not have valid travel documents or misused their social visit passes, some of which had expired.

The police seized 48 Vietnamese passports, a grey SUV believed to have been used to transport the foreign women to locations chosen by the clients, and RM6,275 in cash, suspected to be proceeds from the sexual services provided.

Ruslin said there were 20 local men, who were believed to be clients, present when the raid was carried out.

“They have all been issued notices to appear for questioning to assist in our investigations,” he added.

All the foreign individuals have since been taken to the Semenyih immigration depot for further action and investigation under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966, Immigration Regulations 1963, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (Atipsom).