GEORGE TOWN: Penang police busted a human trafficking syndicate involving ethnic Rohingya, with the arrest of five Myanmar nationals in a special operation conducted on June 14.
In a statement issued today, state police chief Datuk T. Narenasagaran said all five aged between 30 and 50, including a married couple, were arrested in three separate locations in Seberang Prai North district, following surveillance and intelligence activities conducted over a two-week period.
Narenasagaran said three men among the five were smuggling agents who also acted as agents in the falsification of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards, while the husband and wife were human trafficking victims.
He said the three men played a role in the smuggling of ethnic Rohingya to Penang before finding employers for them, for a fee.
The three agents arrested are being investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012 and the couple, under the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Narenasagaran said police had not ruled out the possibility of several other members of the syndicate still at large and were trying to trace them. — Bernama
