KOTA BHARU, June 28 — A syndicate smuggling undocumented migrants has been found to have changed its modus operandi by bringing migrants into the country in small groups to evade detection, according to the General Operations Force (GOF).
Southeast Brigade GOF commander SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the tactic was foiled during Operasi Taring Wawasan Kelantan by the GOF’s 8th Battalion, when 13 Myanmar nationals, including five women, were arrested in separate raids at Kampung Banggol Kemian, Pasir Mas, yesterday.
The operation was conducted with assistance from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Pasir Mas district police headquarters.
He said the operation began at about 3.30 am after a GOF team acted on intelligence and spotted a suspicious-looking Proton Exora in the area.
“When the driver realised the presence of GOF personnel, he stopped the vehicle and fled into a nearby forest, where he managed to evade arrest.
“An inspection of the vehicle found four Myanmar men in the rear seats, who failed to produce any valid travel documents and were subsequently arrested,” he said in a statement today.
Ahmad Radzi said a further search of the surrounding forest led to the arrest of another nine Myanmar nationals about an hour later, who were believed to have just entered the country through an illegal route.
“All those arrested said they had been brought in from Thailand across the Golok River by two unidentified men. They were dropped off in stages in the forest to avoid travelling in large groups to reduce the risk of detection by security forces.
“They were believed to be planning to seek employment in the Kuala Lumpur area,” he said.
Besides arresting the 13 undocumented migrants, aged between 20 and 37, he said the authorities also seized a Proton Exora worth about RM30,000 believed to have been used to transport them.
He said all those arrested had been handed over to the CID of the Pasir Mas district police headquarters for further action and investigations under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
