THE Immigration Department has uncovered what it describes as a highly sophisticated migrant smuggling syndicate that used multiple transit countries, falsified immigration stamps and coordinated land crossings through Thailand and Malaysia to evade detection.
The operation, carried out by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) and AMLA Division of the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya, led to arrests at two major transport hubs: the Terminal Bersepadu Gombak and the Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS).
Immigration Director-General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said intelligence-led surveillance had tracked the arrival of Indonesian nationals into the Klang Valley via Kelantan, using express bus services after entering Malaysia through a carefully arranged multi-stage route.
“In the operation at the first location, which was at the Gombak Integrated Transport Terminal, a total of two men and two women Indonesian nationals were detained.
“Also arrested was a male compatriot believed to be acting as a transporter managing logistics and movement of the migrants around Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
At the second location in Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS), authorities detained three men and three women of Indonesian nationality linked to the same syndicate, and seized a Mazda CX-5 vehicle belonging to a suspected transporter.
Zakaria said the syndicate had significantly changed its operating model, abandoning previous maritime routes through Selangor in favour of more complex air and land pathways designed to avoid enforcement detection.
“The syndicate has now no longer used sea routes in Selangor waters, instead shifting to a more complex approach involving layered air and land routes. This tactic is used because most of the migrants involved are believed to have already been blacklisted from entering the country,” he said.
He explained that migrants avoided direct flights into Malaysia, instead travelling from Indonesia to Singapore as a transit point before being flown to Hat Yai, Thailand. Some also reportedly transited through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) en route to Thailand.
“They avoid direct flights to Malaysia. Among the routes identified are migrants moving from Indonesia to Singapore as a transit country, before being flown to Hat Yai, Thailand. In fact, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is also used as a transit point before proceeding to Hat Yai,” he said.
Once in Hat Yai, migrants were allegedly housed in safe houses before being moved illegally across the Malaysia–Thailand border via Bukit Bunga in Tanah Merah, Kelantan.
“Upon arrival in Hat Yai, all migrants are placed in a safe house before their entry into Kelantan is arranged through illegal routes along the Thailand–Bukit Bunga border,” he said.
From there, they were transported to Kuala Lumpur using express buses operating at night and on staggered schedules to avoid detection.
Zakaria said the syndicate operated in compartmentalised layers, with strict task separation designed to prevent communication between migrants and different members of the network, making enforcement more difficult.
He said the network was believed to be orchestrated by a principal organiser based in Indonesia, with intermediaries in Hat Yai responsible for falsifying immigration entry stamps in passports.
Migrants detained in the operation were aged between 27 and 60 and were believed to have paid between RM3,500 and RM4,000 each to the syndicate.
“All detainees have been placed at Immigration detention depots for further investigation under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM) and the Immigration Act 1959/63,” he said.
The department said investigations are ongoing into the wider network structure and potential cross-border coordination behind the syndicate’s operations. - April 26, 2026
