GOF nabs 40 illegal immigrants in Pasir Mas, Kota Bharu

KOTA BHARU, March 21 -- The 9th Battalion of General Operations Force (GOF9) detained 40 Thai illegal immigrants aged between two and 40 in Op Benteng, yesterday.

GOF9 commanding officer Supt Nor Azizan Yusof said all of them were detained in operations in Pasir Mas and Kota Bharu as a result of intelligence and public information.

"The first operation was carried out at 3.28 am where members raided a house in Kampung Dangar, Pasir Mas. During the raid, a four-wheel drive was found parked in front of the house.

"An inspection found the driver of the vehicle was a local man, with two Thai men and two women with no documents and were suspected of entering here illegally," he said in a statement, today.

Nor Azizan said the second operation was carried out at 7 am at Wakaf Che Yeh, Kota Bharu.

"A GOF team raided a suspicious looking bus and found 36 other illegal immigrants including a two-year-old girl in the bus.

"During the raid, they also arrested three other local men, two of whom were bus drivers and the other  was believed to be the skipper in a Toyota Innova near the bus," he said.

Nor Azizan, all those detained were taken to the Taman Bakti GOF Tactical Headquarters, Pasir Mas for documentation.

"The case will be investigated under Section 6 (3) of the Immigration Act 1959 and Section 26 J of Anti-Trafficking In Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007," he said.

"In these two incidents, we also seized three vehicles and mobile phones estimated to be worth over RM600,000," he said.

-- BERNAMA