KUALA LUMPUR: A notorious migrant-smuggling network that funnelled undocumented migrants from the Thai border into the Klang Valley was smashed at daybreak yesterday when Immigration Department operatives intercepted a convoy of vehicles in Kota Baru, ending a syndicate allegedly run by a Malaysian known as “Mat Sero.”
The 5.52am strike on Dec 8 capped three months of intelligence work and involved 20 officers from the department’s Special Tactical Team, the Intelligence and Special Operations Division, Immigration headquarters and the Kelantan state office.
Department director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said enforcement teams swooped on a public parking area and cut off eight vehicles suspected of transporting migrants.
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“Several transporters attempted to flee, ramming into multiple cars including those belonging to our officers, before they were stopped.
“Some foreigners bolted from the vehicles and hid in nearby bushes but were successfully flushed out,” he said in a statement today.
He said three Malaysian men, including the alleged mastermind known as “Mat Sero”, and a Myanmar national believed to be a transporter were arrested.
Also detained were 35 Myanmar nationals, comprising 22 men, 12 women and a five-year-old girl, aged between five and 45.
Eight vehicles, a Mitsubishi Triton, Toyota Cross, Toyota Innova, Toyota Rush, Isuzu D-Max, Nissan X-Trail, Toyota Voxy and Proton X90, along with three mobile phones were seized.
Zakaria said the syndicate used covert routes along the Kelantan border, moving migrants with the help of Myanmar transporters before handing them to Malaysian drivers who ferried them to pre-arranged locations in the Klang Valley.
“Migrants were charged between RM400 and RM500 per person depending on distance. The network is believed to have operated weekly for at least six months,” he said.
The Malaysian and Myanmar transporters are being investigated under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007, while the 35 undocumented migrants are being probed under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
He said All detainees have been taken to the Kelantan Immigration Office for further action.
Zakaria added that efforts are ongoing to track down remaining members of the network, stressing that the department will act “without compromise” against anyone involved in migrant-smuggling activities to safeguard national security.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
