KOTA KINABALU: A total of 652 Filipino undocumented migrants were deported from Sabah yesterday to Zamboanga City in the Philippines.
The migrants, aged between two months and 76 years old, were previously detained at immigration depots in Papar, Sandakan and Tawau.
Sabah Immigration Director Datuk SH Sitti Saleha Habib Yusoff said all the migrants, comprising 469 men, 130 women and 53 children, left on a ship via Sandakan Port.
"This is the 13th deportation via sea for 2024. They were sent back on the vessel MV Antonia 1," she said in a statement.
She said the migrants committed various offences under the Immigration Act and Immigration Regulations.
Sitti said of the 4,809 migrants deported in 2024 so far, 3,118 were Filipinos.
She said the Immigration Department will continue to carry out enforcement operations.