Perlis Immigration Department detains a local man for transporting illegal immigrants, leading to the arrest of three Myanmar nationals in Arau.
KANGAR: The Perlis Immigration Department detained a 43-year-old local man suspected of transporting illegal immigrants in a special operation in Arau last Sunday.
Perlis Immigration director Mohammad A’sim Md Ali said the suspect was arrested at about 4 am after a team from the department’s Intelligence and Special Operations Division followed a suspicious vehicle.
He said the arrest led to the detention of three Myanmar nationals, two men and a woman, aged between 30 and 43, at a self-service laundry in Arau.
“We have been conducting surveillance on the suspect for nearly three months, and it is believed the modus operandi used changed frequently,” he said in a media briefing here today.
Mohammad A’sim said all the individuals were checked and are believed to have committed offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63. They were taken to the immigration office for further investigation.
He said the department carried out 166 enforcement operations in Perlis from Jan 1 to May 11, checking 1,930 individuals. Of those checked, 130 illegal immigrants were detained, including 115 men and 15 women, with 14 employers also facing action.
Mohammad A’sim said plantation areas in Chuping, near Padang Besar, have been identified as hotspots for migrant smuggling because the terrain is difficult to monitor, especially between 3 am and 5 am.
