Cops: Enforcement personnel working with syndicates to smuggle migrants

Enforcement personnel are believed to have been working hand in glove with syndicates smuggling migrants in and out of the country.

Bukit Aman criminal investigation department director Huzir Mohamed said the police have identified the enforcement personnel involved and would arrest them soon.

This followed the police's four-day operation against the syndicates in the country since June 4, where 371 syndicate members were picked up in Penang, Perak, Selangor, and Johor.

"There were enforcement personnel involved in the smuggling. We are going to investigate them soon in the next phase of the operation," Huzir said in a media conference.

However, Huzir did not reveal which agency the personnel worked for.

The arrested syndicate members, aged between 22 and 70, comprised locals, Indonesians, Filipino, Bangladeshis, and Myanmar nationals.

They played the roles of agents, tekongs (boat handlers), transporters, and transit house providers for the illegal immigrants.

Huzir said police have arrested 547 individuals involved in various immigrant-smuggling syndicates since January this year.

They were all investigated under Section 130V(1) for participating in an organised crime syndicate and arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

In a related matter, Huzir said a syndicate failed to smuggle 270 Rohingya refugees to Langkawi after its members, who were supposed to pick up the refugees onshore, were arrested by the police.

On June 8, authorities intercepted the boat where they arrested 269 refugees and also discovered a dead woman in the boat.

Fifty-three Rohingyas jumped into the sea in a bid to evade the authorities but they were captured by enforcement officers on land.

"We believe the syndicate had abandoned the boat filled with Rohingyas as there was a communication breakdown between those in the boat and its members on the shore who were supposed to receive the immigrants.

"This is because the police had picked up 70 of the syndicate members who arranged to receive the immigrants during the four-day operation," he said. - Mkini