MMEA DETAINS 37 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NEAR PULAU SAYAK

ALOR SETAR, March 1 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle in 37 foreign workers without permits (PATI) at a position 0.4 nautical miles south of Pulau Sayak, Kuala Muda yesterday morning.

Kedah and Perlis MMEA director First Admiral Romli Mustafa said that the operation at 5.30 am was carried out together with the Marine Police Force (PPM) Region One, Penang.

He said that the MMEA patrol boat and PPM successfully detected a fibre boat without a registration number, suspected of bringing in illegal immigrants from the direction of Yan towards the mainland, near Pulau Sayak, Kuala Muda.

"Upon realising the presence of the enforcement team, the boat moved closer to the shores of Pulau Sayak before all of them attempted to escape into the nearby forest.

"However, the operation team’s swift action successfully apprehended 37 individuals consisting of 32 Myanmar nationals, three Bangladeshi nationals, and two Thai men who are believed to be the boat's skipper and crew member," he said to reporters here today.

Romli said that all those detained included 36 men, aged between 15 and 47 years old, as well as a six-year-old boy.

He said that three vehicles, comprising two cars and a multi-purpose vehicle, were also found, and were suspected to be used to transport illegal immigrants from the landing site.

The investigation found that all of them used land routes or the forests in the neighbouring country before boarding a boat in Tanyong Po, Satun, Thailand to Malaysia, before being detected approaching Pulau Sayak.

"We found that some of those detained had been in the country for 10 years and were fluent in Malay," he said.

According to him, all detainees were taken to the Kuala Kedah Maritime Zone Office for further action, and the case is being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM).

-- BERNAMA