37 Bangladeshis detained in Malaysia

At least 37 Bangladeshis were reportedly detained by the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) when they were trying to illegally enter the country by boat.

Capt Iskandar Ishak, director of the agency, said four Indonesians who tried to smuggle in the migrants on a boat, were also detained during the operation, The Star reported yesterday.

"We launched an operation after our radar detected the movement of a suspicious-looking contact entering Malaysian waters around 11:00pm on June 30.

"One of our patrol boats was dispatched to the area and we found an unregistered boat some 1.2 nautical miles in waters off Kuala Sepang," he said in a statement.

The Indonesian coordinator and his assistants aged between 18 and 46 also failed to provide any identification documents when requested.

The case, he said, was being probed under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Immigration Act 1959/63.

He said the MMEA had intensified monitoring and enforcement along the hotspots to prevent any cross-border crime.