ALOR STAR – Penang police in Nibong Tebal are on high alert as authorities believe the remaining 61 ethnic Rohingya who escaped the Sg Bakap temporary detention centre more than a week ago have slipped into the district bordering Perak.
Kedah police chief Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad said some 50 of the escapees are familiar with the local terrain as they had been working in Malaysia for years before they were rounded up for not having valid immigration documents or United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.
He added that Bandar Baharu police in Kedah have flushed out 90% of the fugitives from forests and high-density areas.
“We now suspect that the remaining ones are in Seberang Prai Selatan (Nibong Tebal) and other surrounding areas, based on the recent arrests.”
He said this after attending an iftar event hosted by Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor at the state police headquarters here last night.
Wan Hassan added that the Special Branch has also been deployed to verify speculations that local residents may be harbouring the fugitives, especially Rohingyas with valid UNHCR cards.
The General Operations Force is also deployed and will continue to assist the main task force in nabbing the escapees.
Last Wednesday, six of 528 escaped immigration detainees died in a road accident while trying to cross the North-South Expressway during their escape.
Most of them were re-arrested, including two alleged masterminds. Some also surrendered after they were overcome with exhaustion and hunger. – The Vibes, April 28, 2022
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