JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 9 — In a sweeping statewide crackdown on illegal entertainment activities, police arrested 209 foreign women working as Guest Relations Officers (GROs) across 12 entertainment centers early this morning in a coordinated operation, dubbed “Op Noda”.
Op Noda was launched jointly by the Johor Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK) alongside District Police Headquarters (IPD), running from 2:15 am to 9:00 am.
Johor Police Chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad revealed that in addition to the GROs, authorities detained 13 caretakers of the entertainment premises, aged between 20 and 53 years old, comprising 10 local men and three foreign nationals.
“A total of 209 foreign GROs aged between 19 and 40 years old were detained, comprising 93 Vietnamese nationals, Thailand (87), Laos (11), Indonesia (7), Myanmar (6), and the Philippines (5),” Ab Rahaman said in a statement today.
Preliminary urine screening tests conducted on all individuals detained during the raid revealed that 44 tested positive for illicit drugs. Further checks into past police records established that seven of the detainees have prior criminal and narcotics records.
Ab Rahaman stated that the cases are being investigated under Section 11(2) of the Johor State Entertainment and Places of Entertainment Enactment (ENJ) 4/98, Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, Section 15(1)(c) 1959/63, Section 55B 1959/63, Section 55E 1959/63, as well as Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1959/63.
Reaffirming the contingent’s firm stance on public order, Ab Rahaman emphasized that authorities will not compromise on security issues and warned that premises found violating licensing conditions face stern legal consequences, including the revocation of their operating licenses.
Johor police urge members of the public with information regarding criminal activities to channel details directly to the Johor Police Hotline at 019-2792095 or the Operations Room at 07-2212999.
–NMT
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