OPS SERKAP: KELANTAN IMMIGRATION DETAINS 28 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

KOTA BHARU, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- The Kelantan Immigration Department detained 28 foreign nationals in an operation, codenamed Ops Serkap, conducted at several locations in this district on Friday.

Its deputy director, Nik Akhtarulhaq Nik Abdul Rahman, said the operation which began around 7 am involved 11 enforcement officers and was conducted in the parking area of a hotel on Jalan Kuala Krai, Mukim Padang Enggang, as well as in the Wakaf Che Yeh market.

He said that monitoring found several luxury vehicles believed to be used to transport foreign nationals out of Kelantan before the operation team made a raid and blocked the entrance and exit routes of the hotel parking area.

According to him, several immigrants and vehicle drivers tried to escape but were successfully apprehended. In the raid, 20 Myanmar nationals, consisting of 12 women and eight men, aged between 17 and 40 years old, were detained in the parking area.

"All of them admitted to having recently entered the country illegally by sea, while a 31-year-old Myanmar man, believed to be the ringleader, was also arrested.

"Further investigation with the assistance of the hotel authorities led to the detention of five Myanmar men, aged 25 to 36 years old, and two Chinese men, aged 32 years old. Preliminary investigations found that all the immigrants admitted they were waiting for an agent to take them across the border to return to their home country," he said in a statement today.

According to him, all 28 foreign nationals along with four vehicles, namely a Proton X90, Honda HR-V, Nissan Serena and Perodua Aruz, were taken to the Kelantan State Immigration Office for further investigation, with 27 individuals detained under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 and one man investigated under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.

-- BERNAMA