PUTRAJAYA, May 18 — The Immigration Department successfully busted a human trafficking syndicate that led to the arrest of eight Bangladeshis through an operation at a residential premises in Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday (May 16).
Its director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said as a result of the information, the raiding team was ready to move in on the premises but collided with a Perodua Myvi car being driven suspiciously in the parking lot.
"The driver (suspect) tried to speed off after realising the presence of the raiding party but was successfully intercepted.
"As a result of an inspection on the vehicle, the operation team arrested a Bangladeshi man, in his 30s, suspected of being a 'transporter', together with two Bangladeshi illegal immigrants," he said in a statement today.
The operation team also inspected the residential premises and later arrested five illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, who were found not to have any valid travel documents or passports to be in Malaysia.
Following this, the operation team also seized 10 Bangladesh passports, three handphones, RM500 in cash, and the said Perodua Myvi, believed to be used to transport the illegal immigrants.
Ruslin said the ring's modus operandi was to bring in illegal immigrants, especially from Bangladesh, seeking employment opportunities in Malaysia by flying them from Bangladesh to Vietnam and then transporting them by car to Thailand.
"From Thailand, they will be taken by boat to Kelantan, where the local 'transporter' will then take them by car to the residential premises in Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
“They will then be sent to locations of their choice after payment is made to the Bangladeshi agent in Malaysia. The investigation found that the syndicate charged a fee ranging from RM13,000 to RM21,000 per person and that the syndicate has been in operation for two months," he said.
Ruslin added that the 'transporter' was detained on suspicion of having committed an offence under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (ATIPSOM) 2007, while the others were detained under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passport Act 1966, the Immigration Regulations 1963, and ATIPSOM 2007.
— Bernama
