KUALA LUMPUR – Five Malaysians have been arrested by the Australian Border Force (ABF) on suspicion of being part of a syndicate exploiting foreign workers in Perth’s construction industry.
Three of the men, aged 50, 51 and 64, were detained after ABF field operations personnel executed a search warrant at an Embleton residence on Thursday.
The same day, a 52-year-old was detained after a search warrant was executed at a Dianella residence, while the fifth man, aged 46, was picked up at a commercial property in Beckenham.
All five were in Australia illegally.
The 52-year-old has been deported to Malaysia, with the other four are being held in immigration detention pending their departure from Australia.
The search warrants were part of the national-level Operation Battenrun, targeting labour-hire intermediaries and entities of interest exploiting vulnerable foreign workers.
ABF Commander Operations West James Copeman said the Covid-19 pandemic has not diminished the force’s commitment to taking on criminals and unscrupulous individuals exploiting foreign workers.
“We are always on the lookout for cases of foreign workers being underpaid, deprived of entitlements, and treated poorly.
“ABF will not tolerate those people, who are making significant profits by exploiting foreign workers.
“Operation Battenrun is targeting both the individuals and companies facilitating illegal work and migration fraud.
“Information gathered during these warrants will form the basis of further investigations into a number of Australian-registered companies suspected of using the services of this syndicate.
“Companies can face significant financial infringements if found to be employing contract workers who are unlawful non-citizens, or foreign citizens working outside the conditions of their visas.
“On top of the unacceptable exploitation of these workers, it also disadvantages local businesses that do the right thing by paying and treating their workers properly.” – The Vibes, December 22, 2020
