PUTRAJAYA, Oct 27 — The Immigration Department crippled a human smuggling syndicate with the arrest of eight men acting as “transporters” and 49 illegal immigrants in Ops Gelombang at the main bus terminals in Kota Bharu and Pasir Mas in Kelantan yesterday.

Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the six men arrested in the operation, which started at 6pm, were all locals and they were aged between 17 and 37 years old, while the undocumented migrants were all Myanmarese, comprising 32 men, 16 women and an eight-year-old girl.

He said the immigrants were believed to have arrived from a neighbouring country via the rat road before they were transferred with 10 vehicles to the bus terminal.

“Based on public information and intelligence conducted since two weeks ago, the modus operandi of this syndicate is to smuggle illegal immigrants through the sea route across the Malaysia-Thailand border,” he said in a statement today.

According to him, the mastermind of the human smuggling syndicate is believed to charge between RM6,000 and RM7,000 for each undocumented migrant to enter Malaysia, after which they would be sent to the Klang Valley, Johor Baru, Melaka and Penang to work illegally.

According to Khairul Dzaimee, preliminary investigations also revealed that the local “transporters” were paid between RM150 and RM250 for each undocumented migrant.

He said the syndicate was believed to be active since May 2022 following the reopening of the border after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Investigations also found that the syndicate targets immigrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh and India who are trying to get employment in Malaysia,” he said.

Khairul Dzaimee said an estimated 160 undocumented migrants were brought in a month by the syndicate, resulting in losses of RM1.7 million in foreign worker levy to the government.

All the undocumented migrants were arrested under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Passport Act 1966 and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Acts 2007, while the eight local men would be in remand to facilitate investigation. — Bernama