THE Immigration Department (JIM) successfully busted a human trafficking syndicate and arrested eight illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in an operation on May 16 at residential premises in Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
The operation started at 7.02pm involving a team from the department’s Intelligence and Special Operations Division, Putrajaya.
Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said based on information received, the team went to the premises and they collided with a Perodua Myvi vehicle which was driven by a suspect in the parking lot.
“The suspect driving the vehicle began to speed up upon seeing the team but was successfully intercepted.
“The 33-year-old suspect believed to be an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh and also a ‘transporter’ was arrested along with two other suspects, also from Bangladesh,” he said in a statement.
The team then raided the premises and arrested another five male illegal immigrants from Bangladesh aged between 21 and 38 years old.
All those arrested did not possess any valid travel documents.
The team seized 10 Bangladesh passports, three mobile phones, RM500 in cash and a Perodua Myvi.
Ruslin said the car is believed to have been used to transport the illegal immigrants.
The modus operandi of the syndicate was to bring illegal immigrants, mainly Bangladeshis looking for jobs, into the country by flying them to Vietnam.
From Vietnam, Ruslin said, they would be taken by road to Thailand, then to Kelantan and lastly to the premises in Jalan Sultan Ismail.
After all payments are settled, the illegal immigrants would be taken to their relevant agents, who were also Bangladeshis already in the country.
Initial probes revealed that each illegal immigrant would have to pay between RM13,000 and RM21,000 to the syndicate, believed to have been in operation for the last two months.
The suspects are being detained at the Putrajaya Immigration Depot pending investigations under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007, and immigration laws. – May 18, 2024
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