PASIR MAS: The General Operations Force (GOF) detained 373 individuals and seized various goods worth RM18.5 million in operations conducted along the Kelantan border in the first three months of this year.
Southeast Brigade Commander SAC Sheik Azhar Sheik Omar said contraband, including drugs and firearms, were among the items seized in attempts to smuggle them through the Malaysia-Thailand border.
“This success is the result of collaboration between the GOF and other enforcement agencies by sharing information to help curb smuggling activities.
“We remain committed to carrying out ‘Op Taring Wawasan’ with infrastructure improvements and logistic assets enhancements to facilitate operations to control the national border,” he told a press conference after distributing Aidilfitri cookies to officers and personnel at the Jeram Perdah police station here today.
Sheik Azhar said during the same period, the GOF also detained 379 illegal immigrants at the Malaysia-Thailand border.
“A total of 322 men and 57 women were detained, with the majority of them from Myanmar, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, China and India.
“They entered the country through illegal routes for various purposes, including job opportunities,” he said.
The GOF has also deployed over 300 personnel to patrol border areas through ‘Op Taring Wawasan’ during Aidilfitri festive period to curb cross-border crimes, he added.
“There will be patrols round the clock in the shallow areas of Sungai Golok to prevent unauthorised entry and exit,” he said.
He said the focus will be on illegal jetties as well as the use of drones to monitor the border through assistance from the Royal Malaysia Police Air Unit.
