PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department has foiled a migrant smuggling syndicate in a special operation conducted on March 19, in Ampang, Selangor.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said that based on public tip-off and intelligence, the operations team was deployed to the location, where they successfully intercepted a Perodua Aruz used to transport illegal immigrants.
He said an inspection found that the driver, an Indonesian woman, was acting as a transporter, while two recently arrived Indonesian men were passengers in the vehicle.
“Additionally, four Indonesian men and a woman in the parking area were also inspected. They were believed to have boarded the same vehicle, and admitted that they were about to be deported to their home country through an ungazetted entry point,” he said in a statement, today.
Zakaria added that the syndicate operated by offering services to bring in and repatriate illegal immigrants, for a fee of up to RM4,500 per person, through an ungazetted entry point.
“The illegal agents or transporters overseeing the operation are also Indonesian citizens, and most of the immigrants were picked up from areas in Johor and Negeri Sembilan.
He said the operations team also inspected premises used as a shelter and transit point for illegal immigrants.
The inspection also uncovered a frail-looking woman, believed to be a victim of exploitation, who had been handed over by her employer to the illegal agent for repatriation to her country of origin.
In addition, he said the team discovered several copies of passports, belonging to other individuals, in the illegal agent’s room.
Zakaria added that the operation, which commenced at 4.52 pm, also employed methods to identify potential human trafficking victims among vulnerable groups, following the National Guideline on Human Trafficking Indicators (NGHTI) 2.0.
The department had begun an investigation to look into offences under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007 (Act 670), he said.
