SHAH ALAM, May 11 — The Malaysian Immigration Department dismantled a migrant smuggling syndicate following a special operation conducted on Thursday (May 7) across two locations in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, and Rawang, Selangor.
The operation, conducted at 4pm, was carried out by a team from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division of the Putrajaya Immigration Headquarters, following public tip-offs and intelligence gathering.
The department successfully detained six Indonesians following the raids. The suspects included one man believed to be a transporter, and two men acting as caretakers for a transit home.
Additionally, one man and two women were taken into custody, believed to be migrants for illegal smuggling through unauthorised routes.
It said that the authorities had seized three Indonesian passports, four mobile phones, and RM4,350 in cash, believed to have been derived from illegal activity. A Proton Perdana vehicle, believed to be used to transport undocumented immigrants, was also confiscated.
The syndicate’s modus operandi targeted Indonesian nationals without valid travel documents or who had overstayed in the country to be smuggled in and out of Malaysia via ungazetted sea routes.
“The syndicate is believed to have used a vehicle to transport the migrants to temporary transit homes before moving out through illegal maritime entry points.
“This syndicate is managed by Indonesian nationals, and charges a fee of RM1,500.00 for each migrant,” the department said in a Facebook post.
The transporter is being held on suspicion of committing an offence under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, while the transit home caretakers were detained under Section 26A of the same Act.
The migrants were detained for allegedly committing an offence under the Immigration Act 1959/63, and have been brought to the Immigration Office for further investigation.
“The Immigration Department remains committed to eradicating migrant smuggling activities and will continue to intensify enforcement from time to time to ensure the nation’s security, sovereignty, and public welfare are preserved,” it said.
