In Kelantan, immigration department topples human trafficking ring, arrests six Rohingya

KOTA BARU, June 3 — The Immigration Department brought down a human trafficking syndicate and arrested six Rohingyas in a special operation here on Saturday.

Director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the men, aged between 24 and 35, were arrested by a special tactical team from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division at Putrajaya Immigration Headquarters, in collaboration with the Kelantan Immigration Department.

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He said the team was mobilized based on public complaints and intelligence gathered over three weeks, when they encountered a Proton Wira car driven by a suspect.

“The suspect fled the scene when he realized the presence of the operational team but was intercepted and arrested at the Kota Baru Express Bus Terminal.

“This resulted in the arrest of two Rohingya men suspected of being the transporter and 'helper' as well as two other ethnic men taken to Kuala Lumpur,” he said in a statement today.

After interrogation, the task force raided several houses around Kota Baru, where two more Rohingya men, believed to be on their way to Kuala Lumpur, were arrested.

He added that four of the men had cards from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), while the other two did not have any valid travel documents or passports.

“The syndicate's modus operandi involves smuggling ethnic immigrants into the country through illegal routes on the Thai border. They hide the immigrants in transit houses before transporting them to Kuala Lumpur by express buses, accompanied by another ethnic man from the capital.

“Newly arrived migrants are given fake UNHCR documents to mislead authorities and made to pay RM500 each for transport to Kuala Lumpur and RM100 for transport around Kota Bharu,” he said.

The team also confiscated two fake UNHCR cards, RM2,000 in cash and a Proton Wira vehicle allegedly used to transport the migrants.

Ruslin said three of the Rohingya men are being investigated under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, while the other three are being investigated. an investigation under section 6(3) of the Immigration Act 1959/63. — Bernama