Some of the migrants found drifting in local waters after a boat capsized near the Thai border may be linked to a human trafficking syndicate.
Langkawi police chief Khairul Azhar Nuruddin said preliminary investigations suggest the syndicate has agents operating in both Malaysia and Myanmar, reported Kosmo.
He said statements from the migrants revealed that each of them had paid about 400,000 taka (RM13,600) to agents in Myanmar.
“Most of them came from rural areas and refugee camps,” he told reporters at the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency jetty in Langkawi today.
“Two Bangladeshi nationals have been detained, and we will conduct further investigations to determine whether they are victims, boat skippers or crew members.”
He said investigators had also obtained several mobile phone numbers, which will be used as leads in the ongoing investigation.
Earlier today, Reuters reported that 11 people died after a boat carrying members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya community sank near the Thailand-Malaysia border on Saturday, with about 70 people believed to have been on board the capsized vessel.
The status of another boat carrying 230 passengers remained unclear.
