National Task Force to be disbanded after two-year pandemic run

KUALA LUMPUR – The National Task Force (NTF), which comprises 18 security agencies tasked to safeguard the country’s borders at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, will be officially disbanded on Saturday after two years of operations.

Chief of Defence Force Tan Sri Affendi Buang said in line with the disbandment, Op Benteng which began in May 2020 to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants and curb the Covid-19 outbreak would also be terminated.

He said NTF had shown excellent performance and achieved its objectives throughout the implementation of Op Benteng.

“This is proven by NTF’s successes, having managed to confiscate various types of goods such as drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes amounting to RM1.1 billion, and made 7,490 arrests involving 1,444 skippers, 23,894 illegal immigrants, and 1,377 smugglers,” he said.

He said this during a press conference after the appreciation ceremony for Op Benteng’s services at Wisma Pertahanan here today, which was also attended by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani. – Bernama, December 28, 2022