KUALA LUMPUR: Police have dismantled a migrant smuggling syndicate Geng Castelo in Op Pintas conducted at two separate locations in Tanjung Karang and Rawang, Selangor.
Federal police Criminal Investigation Department's Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrants Smuggling Prevention Division (D3) deputy director senior assistant commissioner Soffian Santong in the first raid, a small boat and sampan were successfully intercepted 0.5 nautical miles off the coast of Sungai Bagan Tengkorak, Tanjung Karang, Selangor, with the help of the marine police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
"The first raid at 6pm on Wednesday involved the D3 team alongside the marine police and MMEA, successfully intercepting a suspicious small boat and a sampan.
"In the raid, we detained 36 Indonesian immigrants, including 19 men, 14 women, and three children, along with two Indonesian men suspected to be the skippers," he said in a statement today.
Following this, police raided a house around Kundang in Rawang, Selangor in a second raid around 6pm on Thursday.
Soffian said 26 Indonesian migrants were detained in the second raid, including 20 men, five women, and one child, as well as two men suspected of being transporters and caretakers of the residence, aged between 4 and 49.
He said further investigations suggest that both raid locations are linked to the same syndicate, believed to have been active for the past six months.
He said investigations revealed that this syndicate charged a 'fare' ranging from RM1,500 to RM2,300 per person.
The migrants reportedly made the payments to agents in Indonesia.
"The migrants detained lacked valid documents and sought to leave Malaysia via sea routes," he said.
A total of 64 Indonesians were detained in the operations, including skippers, transporters, and transit house caretakers.
All detainees have been taken to the Kuala Selangor and Sungai Buloh district police headquarters for further action.
The case is being investigated under Section 26A of the Atipsom Act 2007, Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, and Section 15(1)(c) of the same act.