Malaysian immigration foils a migrant smuggling syndicate, detaining 16 Indonesians including a transporter in a late-night Selangor raid.
PETALING JAYA: Sixteen Indonesian nationals including one ‘transporter’ were detained for overstaying before they could be smuggled out of the country through an illegal sea route near Pantai Morib in a late-night special operation on Saturday.
The arrests were made during a coordinated operation by the Intelligence and Special Operations Division as well as the ATIPSOM and AMLA Prevention Division of the Immigration Department at a residential premises in Banting, Selangor, beginning on Feb 22.
Acting on public tip-offs and three weeks of intelligence gathering, enforcement officers moved in on the location and apprehended a 36-year-old Indonesian man believed to be the “transporter” for the group.
Subsequent inspections at the house led to the arrest of 15 more Indonesian nationals — comprising 11 men, three women and a one-year-old boy — aged between one and 46.
Preliminary checks found that all had overstayed their permitted period of stay in Malaysia.
Authorities also seized six Indonesian passports, a mobile phone and a Honda City believed to have been used in the smuggling operation.
According to investigations, the syndicate used the house as a temporary transit point before arranging for migrants to be transported out of Malaysia via non-gazetted routes along the waters off Pantai Morib.
The operation is believed to have been orchestrated by an Indonesian national acting as the local transporter, while a mastermind based in Indonesia coordinated the migrants’ movements through WhatsApp.
The syndicate allegedly targeted Indonesian nationals seeking to return home but who had committed immigration offences in Malaysia.
Each migrant was charged RM1,500 for the illicit journey, and the group is believed to have been active for about a month.
Deputy Director-General (Operations) of the Immigration Department, Datuk Lokman Effendi Ramli, said swift action was taken to disrupt the network before the migrants could be smuggled out of the country.
“This operation was carried out following detailed intelligence and close monitoring over a period of three weeks. We managed to cripple an attempt to smuggle migrants out through illegal routes before it could be executed,” he said in a statement.
He added that the alleged transporter is being investigated under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM), which provides for severe penalties against individuals involved in migrant smuggling activities.
Meanwhile, the 15 Indonesian nationals are being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for overstaying and other related immigration offences.
All detainees have been taken to the Immigration Office for further investigation and processing.
Lokman stressed that the department would not compromise with any party involved in migrant smuggling or abuse of immigration laws.
“The Department remains committed to combating any form of migrant smuggling activities. Enforcement operations will be intensified from time to time to ensure the safety, sovereignty and well-being of the country are preserved.”
The Sun Malaysia
