Iranian Women Among Those Arrested in a Nightclub in Malaysia

Malaysian police, during an inspection operation at a nightclub suspected of 'sexual exploitation', have arrested several foreign women, including Iranian women, under anti-human trafficking laws. The Malaysian newspaper 'New Straits Times' reported on February 1, citing Rosli Chee, a senior official of the Malaysian Federal Police, that the arrested women were aged between 20 and 45 and were 'entertaining customers at the nightclub when police entered the premises.' More than 60 police officers were involved in the inspection of this nightclub. According to Rosli Chee, some of the arrested women 'did not have valid identification and claimed they were trafficked to Malaysia for sexual exploitation.' No further details were provided, except that the arrested women were from Iran, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, and Indonesia and were detained under immigration laws against human trafficking. The Twitter page of the New Straits Times has published images from this operation. According to the police, there were 100 customers in the nightclub at the time of the police's entry, and all customers have been released. This nightclub is located on P. Ramlee Street in the city center, near Sultan Ismail Street. Previously, Malaysian police had reported the arrest of some Iranians who were said to be professional forgers or provided counterfeit passports to terrorists or human traffickers. According to official reports published in Iran, 221 Iranian citizens are detained in Malaysia, mainly for drug trafficking; however, this number has been reported to be at least 400 in some reports.