Immigration raids safe house, arrests 13, dismantles syndicate charging migrants up to RM15,000 each for illegal entry via Thailand border
PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department has dismantled a human trafficking syndicate known as ‘Iqbal’ following a raid on a remote safe house.
Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the operation resulted in the arrest of 13 individuals, including 12 Bangladeshi nationals and a Rohingya caretaker from Myanmar.
The premises, located in a secluded village to evade detection, was used as a transit point for recently smuggled migrants.
A special team from the Prevention Division in Putrajaya conducted the raid in coordination with Kelantan Immigration enforcement.
Investigations found the migrants had entered Malaysia illegally over the past three days using unofficial land routes along the Malaysia-Thailand border.
They were housed at the location while awaiting payment of outstanding entry fees before being sent to final destinations.
Authorities are tracking the local premises owner suspected of colluding with the syndicate by renting out the property for smuggling activities.
The case is being probed under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
Zakaria said the syndicate, active since early 2024, operated via a network of coordinating agents in the migrants’ countries of origin.
“The main mastermind is believed to be a Bangladeshi national known as ‘Iqbal’ who is operating from Thailand,” he stated.
Each migrant was charged between RM10,000 and RM15,000, with total proceeds estimated at RM1.5 million.
The operation also employed a victim identification approach in line with the National Guideline on Human Trafficking Indicators (NGHTI) 2.0.
