Joint Malaysia—Australia op effective in crippling drug rings

Capt Abdul Razak (seated third from left) and Blackman (seated fourth from right) posing with Teluk Kumbar fishermen showing the safety equipment they received at the Special Operation RedBack XVII programme. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star

THE Redback Special Operation jointly undertaken by Malaysia and Australia to guard the waters has proven to be effective in curbing drug syndicates, said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Penang director Capt Abdul Razak Mohamed.

He said the enforcement of the nations’ waters by both MMEA and Australian Border Force (ABF) had seen several successes over the years in crippling drug syndicates with seizures of a few tonnes of drugs worth millions of ringgit.

“Drug syndicates have become bold in plying the waters, using Penang as a transit point to smuggle drugs to Indonesia and Australia.

“We were able to seize several such consignments,” said Capt Abdul Razak after a briefing and handover of life jackets to fishermen in Teluk Kumbar as part of Operation Redback XVII recently.

He said the fishermen should act as the eyes and ears of the authorities when they are out at sea by providing intelligence on any suspicious boats or cargo.

Joint Agency Taskforce deputy commander Ky Blackman said other than keeping an eye on drug smugglers in the region’s waters, the patrols had also been tracking boats which bring illegal immigrants into Malaysia and Australia.

“The recent upheaval in Sri Lanka has given rise to many from the country trying to get into Australia to seek asylum and we had to turn hundreds of them away.”

Blackman said hot spots of illegal immigration and human trafficking had been identified, and joint patrols under the Redback Special Operation would help curb this problem.

Also present at the event were Civil Defence enforcement and maritime coordinator senior assistant director Capt Muhd Nur Syam Asmawie Yaacob and Australian Border Force counsellor Supt John Fleming.