Human trafficking syndicates are increasingly changing their tactics by bringing undocumented migrants into the country in smaller groups in an attempt to avoid detection by security forces along the Malaysia–Thailand border.
Briged Tenggara General Operations Force (GOF) commander Senior Assistant Commissioner Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the new modus operandi was however successfully disrupted through Operation Taring Wawasan Kelantan by Battalion 8 GOF with assistance from the Pasir Mas District Police Headquarters Criminal Investigation Division.
In the operation, authorities detained 13 Myanmar nationals, including five women, in several separate raids at Kampung Banggol Kemian in Pasir Mas.
The operation began at about 3.30am following intelligence gathering, when GOF personnel spotted a suspicious Proton Exora in the area.
Upon noticing the presence of enforcement officers, the driver allegedly stopped the vehicle and fled into a nearby forest.
Checks inside the vehicle revealed four Myanmar men in the rear seats who failed to produce valid travel documents.
A search operation was then launched in the surrounding forest, leading to the arrest of another nine Myanmar nationals about an hour later.
Preliminary investigations found that all of them were smuggled into the country from Thailand via the Golok River by two unidentified men before being dropped off in stages in forested areas to avoid detection in large groups.
They were believed to be heading to Kuala Lumpur in search of employment after entering the country illegally.
Authorities also seized a Proton Exora believed to have been used in the smuggling activity.
All detainees have been handed over for further investigation under the Immigration Act 1959/63, while border surveillance will continue to be intensified to curb smuggling activities.
