FIVE NABBED FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSING NEAR PASIR MAS

KOTA BHARU, March 5 (Bernama) -- The General Operations Force (PGA) arrested five men, including two Thai nationals, for entering Malaysia via an illegal route along the banks of Sungai Kampung Tok Rusa near Pasir Mas yesterday.

Southeast Brigade Commander SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the men, aged between 31 and 45, were detained at about 8.30 pm by the Battalion 8 Strike Force team during Op Taring Wawasan Kelantan.

He said PGA personnel conducting surveillance at the illegal jetty in Tanjung Baru along Jalan Kasban detected a boat carrying five men approaching from Sungai Golok at the Thailand border before they disembarked on the riverbank at Kampung Tok Rusa.

“They approached the group and identified themselves as police officers before asking them to produce their identification documents.

“Checks found that three of them were locals, while the other two were Thai nationals believed to be the boatmen who ferried them across the river,” he said in a statement today.

Ahmad Radzi said initial investigations found that the three local men had entered Thailand to buy cattle for the upcoming Aidiladha celebration and paid RM2 each for the boat ride.

“Urine screening conducted by the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Divisionof the Pasir Mas district police headquarters found that all five men tested negative for drugs.

“They were detained for entering Malaysia via an illegal route, and the case is being investigated under Section 5(2) of the Immigration Act 1959/63,” he said.

Also seized in the operation were a fibre boat and a Honda GX270 engine, estimated to be worth RM15,000.

-- BERNAMA