by Theleaders-Online | November 25, 2019 1:28 am
SEMPORNA: The Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) detained 72 illegal immigrants in a special operation code named “operasi khas gasak laut siri 3”, in Pulau Denawan yesterday.
ESSCom Commander, Datuk Hazani Ghazali said the operation which began at 12 midnight, inspected 81 individuals and of the total, 72 people aged between 5 and 70 years were detained for not having personal identification or doubtful documents.
“All the detained illegal immigrants had been sent to the Tawau temporary detention centre (PTS) for documentation purposes before being sent back to the countries of their origin,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He said that the operation that ended at 7am targeted settlement areas on the island suspected to be hiding places for the illegal immigrants and for smuggling activities.
“Pulau Denawan is suspected to be one of the settlements used as a staging point by cross-border criminals to indulge in smuggling activities for controlled goods such as petrol,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the operation was participated by 130 members of the security forces comprising the Malaysian Armed Forces, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the Malaysian Immigration Department, the Royal Malaysia Police and the National Registration Department and had gone smoothly without any undesired incidents.
He said ESSCom would continue with such operations to prevent smuggling activities and the entry of illegal immigrants which contributed to criminal activities in the state.
Bernama
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