KUALA LUMPUR: A migrant smuggling syndicate has been smashed by the police with the arrest of two skippers and 43 illegal Indonesians in a raid in Sabak Bernam, Selangor.
The raid by the General Operations Force’s (GOF) Central Brigade under Ops Taring Delta was conducted at about 5.30am last Thursday.
The illegal migrants, 31 men and 12 women, were found gathered along the coastline while preparing to leave Malaysia illegally.
GOF Central Brigade commander Senior Asst Comm Hakemal Hawari said the two skippers are also Indonesian.
A fishing boat and two mobile phones were seized, with total confiscated items valued at RM51,000, he added.
“Intelligence findings revealed that the syndicate charged between RM1,000 and RM3,000 per person to facilitate illegal departures from the country,” Bernama quoted him as saying at a press conference at the GOF Central Brigade headquarters here.
All suspects are being investigated under Section 26(2) of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (Atipsom) and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
SAC Hakemal said smugglers were increasingly switching from speedboats to fishing vessels to evade detection, as the latter appeared less suspicious.
He added that syndicates frequently changed locations and used social media to advertise their services, although such activities had been curtailed with the help of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
He noted a marked increase in migrant smuggling ahead of festive seasons, which was likely due to migrants attempting to return to their home countries.
Atipsom cases handled by the Central Brigade rose from 13 in 2023 to 17 in 2024, before surging to 33 in 2025, involving total seizures exceeding RM4.7mil, he said.
