KUALA LUMPUR: The police have crippled a syndicate masterminded by Sri Lankans to smuggle migrants from that country and India to Australia and New Zealand in an operation around Klang, Selangor, on Jan 4.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the police arrested 34 migrants, comprising 24 Sri Lankans and 10 Indians, and three Sri Lankan men who were members of the syndicate.
The Sri Lankan migrants comprised 12 men, eight women, two boys and two girls while the Indians comprised four men, three women and three girls.
“It was learned that the syndicate had used the maritime route in the Klang area to smuggle the migrants to Australia and New Zealand,“ he said in a statement here today.
From the investigations, it was found that the syndicate had purchased a cruise boat and was in the midst of buying three boat engines with the objective of smuggling the migrants to Australia and New Zealand.
Mohd Fuzi said those detained would be investigated under Section 5 (2) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 as they had entered and attempted to exit Malaysia through an illegal route.
He said that with the arrest, the police had crippled a human trafficking syndicate network in Malaysia which had been operating since 2018 and had an international network of connections across Sri Lanka, India, Australia and New Zealand.
“The police will step up efforts to wipe out human smuggling networks,“ he said. — Bernama
