JAKARTA - The Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) detained an Indonesian citizen (WNI) suspected of being a syndicate of smugglers from migrant workers to Malaysia during Operation Kenyalang in Bintulu, Sarawak.
Malaysia's Department of Immigration Director General Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the operation was carried out on Friday, February 17 at 21:45 local time.
From the operation carried out, the team managed to arrest a 38-year-old Indonesian citizen who was believed to be the head of a syndicate smuggling migrant workers from Indonesia.
The operation was carried out after officers carried out reconnaissance for almost 3 months at a house in Bintulu City.
"The man was detained while taking care of migrant workers at the shelter," he explained in a media statement on the social media page accessed in Kuala Lumpur, Antara, Sunday, February 19.
Malaysian immigration also detained 63 Indonesian citizens consisting of 37 men and 26 women aged between 22 and 52 years.
As many as 30 people were detained at the shelter. According to Khairul Dzaimee, they are the people blacklisted in the Malaysian Immigration system, and when the operation was carried out they already had a flight ticket to Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, 33 other people were arrested when the Malaysian Immigration team conducted a bus check around Bintulu City. He said the inspection was carried out on two buses believed to be carrying foreigners, after a team from Malaysian Immigration received information.
During the operation, the team also confiscated money amounting to 25,000 Malaysian ringgit (RM) (around Rp. 85.55 million) and Rp. 3 million. The team also detained 4 unscrupulous JIM employees who were believed to be involved in the syndicate, he said.
Khairul said the syndicate's modus operandi was to regulate the movement of entry of foreigners who had been blacklisted with the help of immigration employees.
According to him, the syndicate will manage as many as 30 to 40 people every time they enter Malaysia. Meanwhile, unscrupulous Immigration employees will award a safe stamp on the passport of the illegal migrant worker to ensure their safe journey to their destination.
Indonesian citizens who have received stamps from immigration personnel will be taken to shelter houses prepared by syndicates, before being taken to Kuching International Airport, Miri International Airport and Bintulu Airport.
"They will continue their journey to the peninsula through the domestic route," he said.
Based on initial information obtained by JIM, Khairul said the syndicate had been operating for almost 8 months after the border gate of the two countries was opened. Indonesian citizens who will enter Malaysia must hand over around RM5,000 (around Rp17.11 million) to RM6,000 (around Rp20.53 million) per person to syndicate.
In one month of operation, according to him, the smuggling syndicate of illegal migrant workers received around RM80,000 (around Rp273.75 million).
He said all of the Indonesian citizens were arrested because they believed they made a mistake under the Imigresen Law 1959/63 because they entered Malaysia illegally. Meanwhile, 4 Immigration employees and the head of the syndicate were investigated under Article 26A of the Anti-Trafficking and Slending of Migrants 2007.
JIM will continue to hunt down syndicates involved with activities that violate the law, he said. Strict action will be imposed on those found to have violated the mistakes under the law.
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