Depot breakout ringleader re-arrested in Bandar Baharu

BANDAR BAHARU: The chief instigator of the Immigration depot riot that led to a mass escape of Rohingya refugees has been re-arrested.

Kedah police chief Comm Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad said the 34-year-old was arrested with another fellow instigator on Thursday during a police operation in Bandar Baharu. The two have been moved to the Semenyih Immigration depot in Selangor.

“The main suspect is among the longest- residing detainees at the depot and has been in several other depots for three years before being sent to the temporary Immigration depot in Relau,” he said.

Comm Wan Hassan said police were hunting for two more suspects, believed to be accomplices of the main suspect.

He said police had recorded statements from all re-arrested detainees except for the children.

Comm Wan Hassan said the cause of the riot was probably the desire for freedom among some detainees who had been held there for too long.

From the initial statements recorded from the detainees, he said some also felt the temporary depot was too congested.

“Most of them just followed the others after being incited by the main suspects,” he said.

He did not rule out the possibility that the alleged deaths of some detainees earlier had been the trigger point for the rioting and the breakout but stressed that police were still investigating.

As of yesterday, 88 are still at large.