KOTA BHARU: The crackdown on illegal bases along the Golok River since Dec 1 last year has forced smuggling syndicates in Kelantan to seek new alternatives by using the sea route as their ‘rat lanes’.
Confirming this, Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said the syndicates had now turned to the waters of Kuala Besar and several other locations such as Tak Bai in Thailand near Pengkalan Kubor, Semerak and Tok Bali in Pasir Puteh.
He said previously, the Golok River was their main route, but with the tight control implemented by police and border forces, they changed their strategy to sneak in through sea lanes.
“As a result of our intelligence and enforcement operations, the Marine Police (PPM) managed to detain 25 illegal immigrants who tried to enter the country using the route.
“All immigrants, aged between two and 38, who were believed to have just arrived through the neighbouring country’s border, were arrested in an operation at an unregistered landing jetty under the bridge of Kampung Pulau Ular in Pengkalan Kubor yesterday,” he said in a special press conference at the Kelantan police contingent headquarters (IPK) here today.
According to him, police, along with the General Operations Force (GOF), Marine Police and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) will continue to intensify patrols to ensure syndicates do not take the liberty of any route.
“Police will carry out monitoring to ensure the country’s security is at its best,” he said.
