PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department has crippled a human smuggling syndicate with the arrest of eight men and 49 illegal immigrants in Ops Gelombang at main bus terminals in Kota Baru and Pasir Mas in Kelantan.
Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the six men arrested in the operation which started at 6pm on Wednesday (Oct 26) were all locals aged between 17 to 37 years old, while the illegal immigrants were all Myanmarese comprising 32 men, 16 women and an eight-year-old girl.
He said the immigrants are believed to have came into the country via hidden routes before they were transported to the bus terminal in 10 vehicles.
“Based on information and intelligence gathered over the two weeks, the modus operandi of the syndicate is to smuggle illegal immigrants through sea routes across the Malaysia-Thailand border,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 27).
He said the syndicate charge each person between RM6,000 and RM7,000 to enter Malaysia, after which they would be sent to the Klang Valley, Johor Baru, Melaka and Penang to work illegally.
According to Khairul Dzaimee, preliminary investigations also revealed that the local transporters were paid between RM150 and RM250 for each illegal immigrant.
He said the syndicate is believed to have been active since May 2022 following the reopening of borders after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Investigations also found that the syndicate targets immigrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh and India,” he said.
Khairul Dzaimee said an estimated 160 illegal immigrants were brought by the syndicate each month, resulting in losses of RM1.7mil in foreign worker levies to the government.
All the illegal immigrants were arrested under the Immigration Act and the Passport Act and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Acts, while the eight local men would be remanded to facilitate investigations. – Bernama