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PUTRAJAYA – Four immigration officers believed to have been in cahoots with migrant smuggling syndicates were arrested in “Op Kenyalang” in Serian and Bintulu last Friday.
Immigration Director-General Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the four, aged 35 to 45, were detained at 9.45pm at the Tebedu Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security complex.
“Based on three months of surveillance and intelligence, it was found that the officers removed security stamps from migrants’ passports to ensure their safe travels,” he said in a statement today.
Khairul Dzaimee said in the same operation, 63 Indonesians aged 22 to 52, comprising 37 men and 26 women, were nabbed in a separate raid in a residential premises and during an inspection on a bus in Bintulu.
He added that 30 of them, including a 38-year-old man believed to be a syndicate mastermind, were arrested at the house, which was used as a transit house. Cash amounting to RM 25,000 and three million Indonesian rupiah was also seized.
“The Indonesians detained were previously blacklisted from entering Malaysia and all of them had flight tickets to Kuala Lumpur,” Khairul Dzaimee said.
He added that further checks on two buses in Bintulu town led to the arrests of 33 other Indonesian nationals.
Khairul Dzaimee said initial investigations revealed that the syndicate had made profits of more than RM80,000 per month by charging RM5,000 to RM6,000 per migrant entering the country.
“The syndicate, which has been active for almost eight months, arranged the entry of blacklisted foreigners with the help of immigration officers, with 30 to 40 people involved for each entry.
“The immigrants would then be taken to the syndicate's designated transit house before being taken to airports and to Peninsular Malaysia via domestic routes,” he said. – Bernama, February 19, 2023