Police are working with Interpol and Aseanapol to track down a syndicate believed to be linked to the recent boat tragedy involving migrants in waters off the Malaysia-Thailand border.
Kedah police chief Adzli Abu Shah said information received suggested that the syndicate may have been operating in Malaysia and several neighbouring countries.
“Bukit Aman’s D3 (anti-trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants) division is collaborating with Interpol and Aseanapol.
“We will track down the syndicate and provide any details obtained. We will monitor the progress,” Adzli told a press conference here today.
He said survivors of the incident claimed they were assembled at five locations between Baitadung and Teknaf, near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, to board a vessel operated by the syndicate.
The syndicate would gather as many illegal immigrants as possible and load them onto a vessel at maximum capacity before setting sail.
“The vessel would anchor in a channel between the two countries and only set sail at full capacity, in this case about 300 people. The journey usually takes around two weeks,” he said.
Adzli said the victims claimed that payments to the syndicate were only made by their family members upon their arrival in Malaysia.
According to him, police found handwritten notes from the survivors, containing phone numbers believed to be linked to the syndicate’s agents.
He said interrogation of 14 survivors confirmed that all of them were migrants and not members or agents of the syndicate.
The survivors claimed that five individuals believed to be members of the syndicate were operating the mothership they were aboard.
They also said they were transferred to two smaller boats upon reaching the waters near the Malaysia-Thailand border and continued their journey without the syndicate members.
Twenty-nine bodies have been recovered after a boat carrying more than 70 migrants capsized in waters off Langkawi on Nov 6.
