18 foreign nationals rescued in raid at entertainment outlet in Sungai Petani

SUNGAI PETANI: Eighteen foreign nationals, comprising 17 women and a transvestite, who are believed to be human trafficking victims, were rescued during an early morning raid at an entertainment outlet in Taman Tuanku Haminah near here, yesterday.
Kuala Muda district police chief ACP Saifi Abdul Hamid said the raid was conducted at about 12.30am, following several weeks of surveillance.
He said the 18 victims, in their 20s and 30s, 10 of them from Thailand, six from Laos and twp frp, Vietnam, were believed to have been smuggled into the country for the purpose sexual exploitation.
"The police also arrested four men, believed to be the caretakers of the premises," he said, adding that the men, in their 30s, were in remand for six days since yesterday for investigation. — Bernama