Eight Indonesian men were detained after police foiled an alleged attempt to smuggle undocumented migrants out of the country through an unauthorised route in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi last night.
The group was intercepted during a raid at about 11pm near Campsite Tanjung Punggai, Bayu Damai, after police received information about suspected migrant smuggling activities in the area.
Kota Tinggi district police chief Superintendent Yusof Othman said the operation was carried out by officers from the district Criminal Investigation Division.
He said initial checks found that seven of the men, aged between 26 and 38, were undocumented migrants believed to be preparing to leave Malaysia illegally, while the eighth suspect was allegedly acting as a transporter.
“Further checks found that all the suspects were unable to produce valid travel documents allowing them to remain in the country,” he said in a statement today.
Police also seized a Proton X50 believed to have been used by the transporter to facilitate the alleged migrant smuggling operation.
All eight suspects and the seized vehicle were taken to the Kota Tinggi district police headquarters for further investigation.
The case is being investigated under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (ATIPSOM) 2007 and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
The operation highlights continued enforcement efforts against attempts to use unofficial routes to move undocumented migrants across Malaysia’s borders.
