KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Immigration Department has uncovered a migrant smuggling syndicate from Indonesia that brought people in through sea crossings and then routes in Singapore and Thailand.
A raid was conducted by the authorities in the early morning hours on April 25 (Saturday) at two key transport terminals in Kuala Lumpur. This resulted in the arrest of 10 Indonesian nationals, along with two transporters, all of whom are between the ages of 27 and 60, the New Straits Times reported.
Two men and two women from Indonesia, together with a transporter, were detained by officers at Terminal Bersepadu Gombak. At Terminal Bersepadu Selatan, meanwhile, three men and three women from Indonesia who are likely to be part of the same migrant-smuggling syndicate were caught.
A Mazda CX-5, allegedly used to bring the migrants to where they needed to go next, was also seized.
Officers from the Immigration Headquarters in Putrajaya, specifically those from the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) and Anti-Migrant Labour Abuse (Amla) Prevention Division, carried out the operations.
“Officers tracked the arrival of a group of Indonesian nationals travelling to the Klang Valley from Kelantan via express buses,” Immigration director general Zakaria Shaaban said in a statement. The Indonesians were said to have been brought into Malaysia illegally from the Thai border.
The statement added that, whereas before, sea routes in Selangor waters had been used to transport migrants, initial investigations have shown that “a more complex, layered approach” is now in use, involving both air and land routes to throw off enforcement agencies.
Direct flights into Malaysia are also being avoided, since “many” of the migrants who were smuggled in are said to be blacklisted from entry.
The route that smugglers took the migrants on began in Indonesia, and from there, they were either flown into Kuala Lumpur International Airport or brought to Singapore, and then further to Hat Yai, Thailand. From there, the migrants were brought to transit houses. The transporters then used illegal routes in Bukit Bunga, Tanah Merah, to bring the migrants to Kelantan. In Kelantan, they were put on different overnight express bus services to evade being detected, which were bound for Kuala Lumpur.
Each migrant was charged between RM3,500 (S$1,130) and RM4,000 (S$1,290) for the services that the migrant-smuggling syndicate rendered. According to the immigration department, “This layered network structure is designed to separate and isolate information links between migrants and syndicate members, making detection more difficult.”
Some Malaysians are also believed to be part of the syndicate. They may have helped with buying bus tickets and logistics, and are currently being tracked down. /TISG
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