ISKANDAR PUTERI: A Singaporean man was among 31 individuals detained by the Johor Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) for being involved in migrant smuggling activities in December last year.
Johor State Customs director Aminul Izmeer Mohd Sohaimi said the man in his 50s was arrested at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar, Johor, after he was found trying to hide in the boot of a Perodua Myvi during a passenger check on Dec 13.
“Two Malaysian women in their 20s acting as migrant transporters have been charged under section 26J of the Atipsom (Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants) Act 2007, while the migrants were charged under the Immigration Act 1959/63,“ he said in a press conference at the Sungai Pulai Customs Enforcement Complex, in Gelang Patah near here today.
He said the man had paid 3,000 Singapore dollars (1 Singapore dollar=RM3.5154) to enter the country illegally.
He added that the man was sentenced to three months in prison and was deported from the country in mid-February.
Meanwhile, he said Johor JKDM through members of the Marine Unit of the Customs Enforcement Division had flagged down and inspected a Proton Saga in Sabak Bernam on Dec 17 last year.
He said the driver and passenger of the vehicle then led the authorities to a chalet.
“Inspections at the chalet revealed 28 individuals consisting of 26 Indonesian men, one Indonesian woman and one Malaysian woman,“ he said, adding that seven of them were found to have no identification documents.
“Some of them are suspected to be workers facilitating the movement back to Indonesia through illegal routes, believed to have committed offenses under the Atipsom Act 2007,“ he said.
As a result, he said three individuals were charged under Section 26A of the Atipsom Act 2007, and 25 Indonesian migrants under the Immigration Act 1959/63. -Bernama