60 Turks lived undetected at KL International Airport for over a month: Report

KUALA LUMPUR:A group of more than 60 Turkish nationals, including children as young as six months, has managed to stay undetected at the international airport in the Malaysian capital for over a month, pulling off a major breach inside the high-security premises, a media report today said.

The Malaysian police came to know about the Turks after KL International Airport's ( KLIA) officials arrested three men from the group on September 30 after they apparently attempted to sneak into the satellite terminal via the contact pier on Level 4 of the airport.

The arrests led authorities to detain 65 others, including 21 children, 18 women and 20 men, in the viewing gallery the same day, The Star reported.

Initial investigations found that the group had been staying in the premises for over a month.

All of them are now being investigated under the Immigration Act.

Police spokesman Zaldino Zaludin said apparently no one had noticed them as it was thought the group was transiting passengers.

"They slept on cloth on the floor and bathed and changed in the toilets. At the airport, these things are a routine sight to us," said Zaludin.

"They had money with them. The viewing gallery is a very big place -- with toilets, prayer rooms and shops. If you have money, you can practically live there," he said, clarifying that the only crime committed by the group was overstaying in the country.

Zaludin said their embassy has been contacted and we are looking to refer this case to the Immigration Department soon.

He said the oldest among those detained is 60 while the youngest is six months old.

Immigration Department director-general Aloyah Mamat said the area where the Turkish nationals were found was tagged as a "no man's land" although it was checked for squatters every night.

According to the newspaper, last year Ahmed Kanan, a 22-year-old Palestinian, had lived in KLIA's mezzanine floor for over 50 days without the knowledge of enforcement officers.