KOTA BHARU: Two agents and eight Thai women were detained by police in two separate Op Benteng raids in Pasir Mas and Tumpat on March 26 and 27 (Friday and Saturday).
General Operations Force (GOF) Ninth Battalion commanding officer Supt Nor Azizan Yusof said all the women aged between 24 and 39 were apprehended for entering the country via illegally routes at the Malaysia-Thailand border.
According to him, in the first incident at 11 pm on Friday, a GOF team on patrol stopped a suspicious looking Proton Wira driven by a 32-year-old man in Kampung Kubang Kual , Pasir Mas.
He said on inspection, police found four Thai women in the vehicle holding expired passports.
âFurther inspection showed the women entered the country through an illegal base in Rantau Panjang and the local man was the agent to take them to a specific location.
All involved were detained and taken to the Rantau Panjang police station for further action, he said.
Following the incident, Nor Azizan said the team raided a chalet in Kampung Paya Pasir near Wakaf Bharu, Tumpat at 5 am yesterday (March 27).
He said in the raid, GOF detained a man, 59 in front of a chalet.
âInvestigation brought them to find four Thai women without any documents in another chalet.
âWe also seized a Honda City near the location, suspected of being used in the activity,â he said.
He said the case would be investigated under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 and Section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
âAll the women were believed to be looking for jobs in the country following the governmentâs relaxation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) and the opening of economic sector according to the conditions set by the Health Ministry,â he said. – Bernama
