RANTAU PANJANG: Smugglers are taking advantage of the rising water levels of Sungai Golok at the Kelantan-Thailand border to carry out their illegal activities.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said these smugglers would bring in essential items and other foods from Thailand to Kelantan via the many illegal jetties along the border.
"It is normal for them (to bring in smuggled goods) when the Golok river rises, as they can travel faster between the two points.
"They will grab whatever items that receive high demand from locals and smuggle it using the illegal jetties," he told the New Straits Times.
A survey along the border showed the smugglers bringing in their goods via a few illegal jetties here as early as 7am.
The groups consist of young smugglers, who bring in Thai rice and other essential items which they pick up from their counterparts from the neighbouring country.
After taking the goods, they would carry them on their shoulders and place them inside the waiting boats.
The boats then would cross over the Golok river and land at the various illegal jetties here.
Based on NST's surveillance yesterday evening, nearly 20 smugglers were operating at two jetties here.
They took less than five minutes to bring in 250kg of Thai rice and other items.
A smuggler, who only wanted to be known as Amin, said he and his friends started bringing Thai essential items at 9am.
"When we saw the level of the Golok river rising yesterday, we immediately grabbed our small sampan and went to the other side of the river to bring in the Thai goods.
"In less than five minutes, we can bring more than five gunny sacks of Thai rice weighing 25kg each," said the 25-year-old.