Two foreigners were arrested for suspected involvement in illegal employment, and three others are assisting with investigations on suspected false salary declarations following a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) raid on Wednesday.

Codenamed "Ops Night Strike", the raid of 12 retail outlets was conducted along Kinta Road, Race Course Road and Race Course Lane to check for possible contraventions under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

A total of 46 persons were checked, comprising 14 locals and 32 foreigners.

In a statement released on Friday, MOM said the operation was conducted as part of its enforcement strategy to re-inspect premises where employment offences were established in previous operations.

Investigations against all the suspects are ongoing. The employers of these foreign workers will also be assisting in the investigation.

In the first four months of this year, a total of 381 foreigners were caught committing illegal employment offences during MOM's operations.

The maximum penalty for illegally employing foreign employees without valid work passes is $30,000 fine or 12 months imprisonment, or both. The maximum penalty for making false declarations is $20,000 fine or 24 months imprisonment, or both.