KOTA BARU: Police arrested five illegal immigrants and a local man believed to be acting as a land coordinator in Ops Taring Wawasan Kelantan in front of Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Panau, Tanah Merah, on Thursday (Aug 13).
In the operation at 6.10am, Battalion 7 Task Force of Kuantan General Operations Force (GOF), Pahang, assisted by the district Criminal Investigation Division of Tanah Merah district police headquarters, spotted a grey Honda City in a suspicious manner while travelling from Pasir Mas towards Tanah Merah.
GOF Southeast Brigade commander SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain said that upon realising the presence of the police, the driver of the vehicle sped up before turning onto Jalan Bukit Panau towards Bukit Mas.
"The team then chased the vehicle and managed to arrest it in front of Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Panau.
"An inspection of the vehicle found five individuals believed to be immigrants, consisting of a Thai woman from Pattani and four Myanmar men," he said in a statement on Thursday (Aug 13)
He said the local suspect who was arrested was a 28-year-old man while the five immigrants were aged 18 to 31.
He said the police also seized a Honda City car worth about RM105,000, seven mobile phones worth RM10,500 and RM1,094 in cash, making the total value of the seizure RM116,594.
"The urine test results of the local suspect, believed to be the coordinator, found him positive for amphetamine," he said.
Ahmad Radzi said interrogations found that the local suspect, who lives in Kuala Lumpur and is unmarried, admitted to smuggling immigrants for the second time.
"The suspect claimed to have received payment of RM600 for each shipment, and the activity was masterminded by a male agent known as 'Kevin' based in Kuala Lumpur.
"Payment was made in cash after the delivery was completed and dealings with the agent were only done face-to-face in Kuala Lumpur," he said.
He said the five migrants were believed to be sent to Johor to work as labourers, while the car used belonged to the suspect himself, who previously worked as a Grab driver.
The case is being investigated under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007, Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 and Section 15(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. – Bernama
