IPOH: Police have arrested 29 Indonesians, including a skipper, suspected of involvement in human trafficking activities in Sitiawan yesterday.
Manjung police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamed Nordin Abdullah said his team received information at about 8.34pm from the Kampung Acheh marine police, Sitiawan, and detained a wooden "pom pom" type boat about 9.8 nautical miles from Tanjung Hantu Segari in the Manjung waters.
"The boat was believed to have been carrying the foreigners via an uncharted route," he said in a statement today.
"After successfully detaining the boat, the marine police conducted an inspection and arrested the skipper and 29 individuals, including five Indonesian women, on suspicion of entering the country without valid travel passes."
According to Mohamamed Nordin, the preliminary investigation found that all those arrested had gathered in an area believed to be around Sabak Bernam, Selangor before boarding the boat on Aug 3, and that the boat was damaged causing it to drift for about eight days until it was successfully tracked down by the marine police.
He added that the case was being investigated under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Migrant Smuggling Act (ATIPSOM) 2007 and Section (6)(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959. – BERNAMA