KOTA BARU: Six suspected "snakeheads", including a Thai national, have been charged in the Sessions Court here with smuggling Bangladeshi migrants at Kampung Sungai Mas in Machang, Kelantan. last month.
No plea was recorded from the accused – Muhamad Amirul Aileh (the Thai national), 30; Muhammad Arif Abd Halim, 22; Mohamad Hazran Mohd Daud, 34; Mohd Shamsuri Yusoff, 45; Norazalina Mohamad, 40; and Nur Aliya Natasya Abdul Rahman, 20 – after the charge was read to them before judge Nik Habri Nik Muhamad on Wednesday (July 8), as the case falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
All six, together with another individual still at large, are accused of conducting smuggling activities involving 10 Bangladeshi migrants at a house in Taman Desa Mas, Kampung Sungai Mas, at about 8am on June 11.
They were charged under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007, punishable under the same section read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
They face imprisonment of up to 20 years, or a fine, or both upon conviction.
The court fixed July 26 for case mention. – Bernama
