PADANG TERAP: A house in Kampung Sireh, Mukim Tekai Kiri, Naka, which was being used as a transit point for undocumented immigrants seeking temporary shelter, was raided by the Kedah Immigration Department (JIM) today.
The house, believed to have been built two years ago, is thought to belong to a 62-year-old local elderly man.
During the raid at 8.30am, a team of Kedah JIM officers and personnel detained 22 undocumented immigrants from Myanmar, consisting 15 men and seven women, aged between 15 and 40 years old. All the immigrants were believed to have just arrived in the country, based on the bags they carried and their dirty clothing.
Among them, a three-month pregnant Myanmar woman, was detained along with her husband, who is also believed to have just entered Malaysia for the first time.
Upon inspection, it was found that all the detainees had no legal entry documents into the country.
Additionally, three local men, aged 19 to 62, including the house owner, were arrested to assist the investigation.
It was understood that each immigrant had a tagging bracelet tied to their arm to help the syndicate track who had recently entered the country before handing them over to a smuggler or agent for further management.
Moreover, each immigrant had paid RM6,500 to enter the country, and the local agents or smugglers received RM1,000 per person to transport them to other destinations based on demand.
Meanwhile, the elderly house owner claimed he only provided food and drink for the immigrants who stayed temporarily at his home and was paid separately by the agents.
"I only received RM100 or RM200, and the food and drink were paid separately," he said when met today.
One of the ground smugglers claimed to have transported immigrants three times, receiving RM300 for five immigrants per trip. He said that one vehicle was rented specifically for this purpose, while another used a personal car to transport the immigrants to Penang.
Kedah Immigration Department deputy director (management) Siti Zaharah Zakaria said the operation involved two officers and 11 members from JIM Kedah's Intelligence and Operations Unit.
She said the syndicate's modus operandi was to receive offers from the immigrants through agents from neighbouring countries and use rental vehicles as transporters.
She added that the ground smuggler was believed to have used the raided house as a transit point for approximately 12 hours before the immigrants were transported to Sungai Petani and Penang.
"All the Myanmar immigrants have been remanded for 14 days and will be placed at the Belantik Immigration Depot in Sik, while the three local suspects will be brought to the Magistrate's Court for remand.
"The immigrants are being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63. The three local men are being investigated under Section 26F of the same Act, for providing facilities to assist in smuggling, Section 26H for concealing or sheltering smuggled migrants, and Section 26J for transporting smuggled migrants," she said.