KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department detained 48 foreign women in raids on three suspected prostitution dens in the city.

Immigration deputy director-general (Operation) Jafri Embok Taha said the raids on Friday (Jan 5) night also busted the activities of a syndicate.

"We detained 48 foreign women - 32 Indonesians, 13 Thais and three Vietnamese - along with a man from Afghanistan.” he said.

Jafri added in a statement on Sunday (Jan 7) that three local men were detained, saying that two were caretakers of the premises while a third was a transporter.

He said that eight of the Thai women detained had valid social visit passes while the remaining female foreigners did not have any travel documents or passes.

"We seized various items, including condoms, eight Thai passports, RM300 cash, towels, CCTV equipment and a car," he added.

Jafri said the syndicate would promote the services of the women by uploading their photos on Telegram and WhatsApp and added that the women would be sent to a specific hotel or location based on the preference of the customers.

"Each customer is charged between RM400 and RM1,200 based on packages offered by the syndicate. Payments are made in cash or online transactions before the women are sent to the customers," he said.

Jafri added that the investigation showed the syndicate has been operating for about a year.

"We conducted surveillance and intelligence gathering for about two weeks before conducting the raids," he said.

The foreigners detained were brought to the Immigration depot in Semenyih, he added.

"We will continue with such operations in the future and take stern action on those committing immigration offences," he said.