PASIR PUTEH: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Kelantan detained 14 undocumented migrants, believed to be Myanmar nationals, including a two-year-old boy, on Monday.
Kelantan MMEA director Erwan Shah Soahdi said that an agency team made arrests around 10 pm while patrolling the Malaysia-Thailand waters during Op Naga Barat, Op Damai, and Op Tiris.
He said during the patrol, the MMEA team received information about a fibreglass boat attempting to smuggle foreign nationals into the country through Sungai Kuala Besar, Kota Bharu.
“Based on intelligence, a vessel was deployed to the location where a suspicious white boat was detected.
“Upon noticing the presence of our officers, the boat tried to escape but was intercepted after approximately 40 minutes of pursuit,“ he told a press conference at the Kelantan MMEA Office in Tok Bali today.
He said the fibreglass boat skipper fled into the bushes upon landing on the riverbank and that at the same time, 14 Myanmar nationals, comprising 10 men, three women and a a child, aged between two and 30 years, were nabbed.
They were taken to the Kelantan State Maritime Jetty for further action.
“Further investigation revealed that eight individuals had questionable identification documents, while six others had no valid papers.
“The rough sea conditions created challenges in bringing the boat back to the base, as the enforcement vessel took over two hours to reach the Kelantan State Maritime Jetty,“ he said.
He said this case represents the first arrest of the year involving foreign nationals using fibreglass boats, which are typically employed for fishing.
