The director-general of immigration, Zakaria Shaaban, said the syndicate is believed to have been operating for the past year.

“Indonesian nationals without valid work passes were lured through promises of employment, while employers were deceived by the syndicate’s offer to arrange documents for the workers supplied,” he said.

Employers were charged between RM4,500 and RM6,000 for each domestic worker, he added.

A woman and her daughter, known as Ibu Maznah, were arrested in the operation. They were believed to be agents of the syndicate.

In a separate raid, officers detained two Yemeni men and two Indonesian women believed to be illegal agents known as ‘Ibu Nancy’, while a Malaysian man suspected of acting as a transporter was also arrested.

He said the agents were believed to have supplied and exploited Indonesian women as foreign domestic workers.

Checks at other locations also led to the detention of 18 Indonesians, comprising 10 men and eight women, for not possessing valid travel documents.

Among items seized were 21 Indonesian passports, seven mobile phones, agreements between agents and employers, and a Perodua Bezza believed to have been used in the operation.