KUALA LUMPUR: Twelve male Indian nationals were rescued by the Immigration Department following several raids on a human trafficking syndicate in Sarawak.
Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said a 40-year-old local man, who was known as Dudley and also the mastermind, was detained along with four syndicate members, aged between 25 and 40, in the operations conducted from Aug 19 to 22.
"We managed to rescue 12 male Indian nationals, who were victims of the syndicate.
"Investigations showed each victim was forced to pay between RM20,000 and RM25,000 to the syndicate to manage their entries to Malaysia," he said in a statement on Thursday (Aug 24).
The syndicate has been active since May last year.
"The syndicate would promise jobs on a ship before transporting the victims to Malaysia via the KL International Airport (KLIA).
"They will then be flown to Miri and Sibu in Sarawak," he said.
Ruslin said various items were seized including RM600, 75 Indian passports, seven Indonesian passports, three Myanmar passports, four laptops and three vehicles.
"The mastermind has been remanded for one week while the four other suspects, all Indian nationals, were held at Semuja Immigration depot," he said.
The 12 victims rescued have been placed at an Immigration safe house, Ruslin added.
"We will continue to take action against those who conduct illegal activities.
"We urge the public to channel information to the department so that enforcement action can be taken," he said.
