Immigration director-general Zakaria Shaaban said that during the operation last Thursday afternoon, 10 men and one woman, aged between 20 and 40, were arrested.

“The syndicate’s modus operandi was to convert luxury residential units into online gambling operation centres managed by Chinese nationals and targeting overseas markets.

“They used the Telegram and WhatsApp applications for promotional and communication purposes,” he said in a statement today.

Checks found that two men had misused their social visit passes, five others had overstayed, while three men and one woman did not possess any valid travel documents or passes to remain in the country.

“The team also seized seven Chinese passports, 11 laptops, seven mobile phones, three computer sets, and RM3,900 in cash,” he said.

He added that all the suspects are being detained on suspicion of committing offences under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963, Section 15(4) and Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.

“All the foreign nationals have been taken to the Putrajaya immigration office for further investigation,” he said.