KUALA LUMPUR: Blacklisted Indonesians have been entering Malaysia with the help of Immigration Department officers.
This was discovered when a human trafficking syndicate was busted with the arrest of its mastermind and 63 Indonesians, said Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud.
Also detained were four Immigration officers, he added.
Khairul Dzaimee said surveillance on the illegal activity began three months ago before enforcement teams carried out a series of raids in Bintulu, Sarawak, last Friday.
He said the team first raided a house at 9.45pm and arrested a 38-year-old Indonesian man, whom they believed was the leader of the human trafficking syndicate.
“We also detained 30 Indonesians at the property, used as a transit home, and seized more than RM25,000 in cash,” he added in a statement.
He said further checks on two buses in town led to the arrest of another 33 people from Indonesia.
“We also detained four Immigration officers suspected of being in cahoots with the syndicate,” he added.
Khairul Dzaimee said the Indonesians, who had a flight ticket to Kuala Lumpur, were all blacklisted from entering Malaysia.
“The syndicate has arranged for them to enter with the help of Immigration officers, who issued security stamps to ensure their safe passage.
“(After entering Malaysia), the group would be brought to transit homes before making their way to other destinations in Peninsular Malaysia via airports in Kuching, Miri and Bintulu,” he added.
He said initial investigations revealed that the syndicate, which charged a fee of between RM5,000 and RM6,000 per person, had been operating for close to eight months.
It would bring about 30 to 40 people per trip and made some RM80,000 each month, he added.
Khairul Dzaimee warned that the Immigration Department would not stop hunting down such syndicates and that stern action would be taken against those who break the law.
