KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 20 -- Police have dismantled a suspected foreign child trafficking syndicate that allegedly forced 17 Jordanian minors into begging across the city's busiest tourist and commercial districts.

The coordinated crackdown, dubbed Op Pintas Kasih, resulted in the rescue of eight boys and nine girls aged between three months and 14 years. The operation, launched on Aug 19, targeted a lucrative network operating primarily along the five-foot ways of Bukit Bintang and Chow Kit.

Officers from Bukit Aman's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) - specifically the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Division (D3), alongside the D6 and D7 units - conducted 13 simultaneous raids. Seven of these took place o...