TAWAU: The Immigration Department could have exposed an illicit kinky sex service operation here after a raid on three premises fronting as health spas here.

Officers came across a torture room in the Monday night raid where a baseball bat and a pair of nunchakus were found.

District Immigration Department head Noraini Rasi said investigation were still ongoing to establish if the torture room was used to punish uncooperative sex workers or to provide sadism and masochism (S&M) sex services to clients.

The operation, headed by Noraini, concentrated at Le' Spa Health Club Reflexology And Beauty, Le Club Cafe, 8 Eleven Mini Market and around Takada shop building area.

Apart from the massage and reflexology services, Noraini said one of the three-storey premises was believed to have offered sex services costing thousands of ringgit in a luxurious and exclusive room.

Twenty-five immigrants, including 19 women, were detained while three suspected pimps managed to escape in the 8.30pm operation.

The men and women, aged between 20 and 61, were arrested for entering the state illegally and three Malaysian men who are employers were held for employing illegal immigrants.

Those arrested were one Indonesian woman, 18 Filipinos including 12 women, six Thai women and three Malaysian men.

In the operation, 50 people were checked. Those detained would be investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for entering the state illegally while the Malaysians were apprehended under Section 55(B) of the same Act for employing illegals.

Noraini said the department had been monitoring the place for three weeks before conducting the operation.

She added the quarters for the women were very bad and smelly and believed there could be migrants trafficking, which the department would investigate under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2017.