Cops nab their own for human trade

JOHOR BARU: There were hints three months ago that human trafficking syndicates had enforcement officials in their pockets, but the breakthrough came on June 4 when police smashed a syndicate with the arrest of 40 suspects.

They did not rest on their laurels, but instead connected the dots and launched another operation from June 15-18.

This led to the police arresting 18 enforcement personnel – including 13 from within their own ranks.

It was a major stride in the ongoing war against these syndicates, which have raked in about RM60mil by smuggling more than 43,000 illegal immigrants since 2014.

Johor police chief Comm Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said one of the policemen arrested has a rank of Assistant Superintendent, and he was stationed at one of the 13 district police headquarters in the state.

The June 15-18 “operation led to the arrest of five Armed Forces personnel and 13 policemen including two from the marine police, two from Bukit Aman and nine from the Kota Tinggi police station.

“We believe that these enforcement officers and personnel have been helping more than one human smuggling syndicate since 2017.

“They will channel sensitive information to the syndicates, such as enforcement operations on illegal immigrants or by helping make their smuggling activities easier, ” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Comm Ayob Khan added that it was believed these enforcement personnel were on the payroll of syndicates that have been using the east coast of Johor to conduct their illegal activities.

How the criminals work: Comm Ayob Khan explaining the sequence of how human traffickers work to get illegal immigrants into the country.

“We believe that at least one of the personnel involved received a payment of RM10,000 in cash for a successful smuggling activity from the syndicate.

“These syndicates will avoid using banking transactions to leave a money trail that could be detected by Malaysian authorities.”

The modus operandi was simple: The ringleader or mastermind would contact the agent who recruits the illegal immigrants. The agent would make the preparations, including transport.

The transporter will then contact the “tekung darat (land captain)”, who would check with the enforcement personnel on their payroll to find out when and where there would be anti-smuggling operations so that they could evade them.

When everything was clear, they would bring in the illegal immigrants and rush them to a safe house.

Once they were certain that the coast was clear, these illegal immigrants would be dispatched to work around Johor and nearby states.

The war is not over. Comm Ayob Khan added that police had not ruled out more arrests from within the enforcement agencies.

When asked if senior ranked enforcement officers were also involved in abetting human smuggling syndicates, he would only say, “Wait and see”.

“We will not compromise or protect any personnel or officers from any enforcement agency, including the police, if they are involved in human smuggling syndicates.

“I only give this warning once, and if such personnel and officers still continue to be involved in illegal activities, then they better be prepared for action, ” he said.

Comm Ayob Khan added that the case was being investigated under Section 130V of the Penal Code and Section 130ZB by using investigation procedures under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012 against the suspects.