PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (MBCA) has foiled a deceptive attempt by a group of foreigners to enter the country under the guise of being in transit.

This followed a targeted operation at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Thursday.

In a statement today, the agency reported that over 400 individuals from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India were screened during the operation.

Of these, 105 were found not to meet entry requirements and were subsequently ordered to return to their countries of origin.

"The tactic involved claiming to be transiting through Malaysia en route to a third country," the statement said.

However, investigations conducted in collaboration with the airlines revealed that their connecting flight tickets to these third-country destinations had been cancelled as soon as the individuals boarded their flights to KLIA.