Attempt to smuggle illegal immigrants busted at M’sian-Thai border
PADANG BESAR: A human trafficking agent who tried to smuggle three illegal immigrants by concealing them under a car passenger seat and boot, was busted in an operation yesterday conducted by the Perlis Immigration Department.
Department director Basri Othman said the three Myanmar nationals aged 19 to 47, hired the syndicate to take them out of the country to return home through Thailand.
“During an inspection of a Proton Hero vehicle at the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security Complex (ICQS) at the Padang Besar-Thailand border at about 6.45am, a man came down and pretended to open a car boot after being asked to do so by an officer.
“However, all of a sudden, the man in his 40s made a dash for the Thai border before any action could be taken,“ he told a news conference at ICQS here today, adding that the case was being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Initial investigations revealed that the three foreigners had been working on a farm in Balik Pulau for over a year and had entered the country with temporary work visit passes believed to be forgeries.
They reportedly paid RM100 to obtain the passes from a countryman who had returned to his home country, in addition to paying another RM1,100 to the syndicate to take them to Thailand.
Basri said human trafficking syndicates were constantly changing tactics in carrying out their activities, but the department would intensify operations to curb such activities. — Bernama
