KOTA TINGGI: Police here crippled a migrant smuggling operation following the arrest of 13 Indonesians and a local man in Sungai Rengit and Felda Air Tawar.
Kota Tinggi OCPD Supt Yusof Othman said the operation was carried out between 11.45pm on Sunday (April 26) and 4am the following day.
“Acting on information, we conducted surveillance at a house in Sungai Rengit, Pengerang before detaining 10 Indonesian men and one woman, believed to have just arrived from a neighbouring country.
“Checks found that all of them failed to produce valid travel documents to stay in Malaysia,” he said in a statement Tuesday (April 28).
He added that follow-up operations led to the arrest of two more Indonesians and a local man at two separate locations, all suspected to be involved in migrant smuggling activities.
All suspects, aged 36 to 58 years old, and seized items have been brought to the Kota Tinggi district police headquarters for further investigation.
The case is being investigated under Section 26A 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.
Police urged those with information on migrant smuggling activities to come forward and channel information to the nearest police station or contact the Kota Tinggi police headquarters hotline at 07-883 1222.
