SEREMBAN: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained 18 illegal Indonesian immigrants, including two children, who attempted to sneak out of the country on Thursday (Feb 16).
Negeri Sembilan and Melaka MMEA director Captain Maritime Iskandar Ishak said 10 men, six women and two children, aged four to 47, were arrested in Tanjung Sepat waters in Selangor, after they failed to produce valid identity documents.
"Intelligence surveillance detected a group of suspicious individuals in the mangrove swamp at Pantai Kanchong Laut, Tanjung Sepat.
"The enforcement team, patrolling under the Op Murni/Op Khas Vector, deployed to check the area at about 10pm.
"Upon arrival, they found that there were no boats in the area, but they tracked down several individuals, suspected to be foreigners, in a sandy area at 0.4 nautical miles South-West of Pantai Kanchong Laut," he said in a statement on Friday (Feb 17).
He said the group was detained, and the case was being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63. - Bernama