37 Bangladeshis detained trying to illegally enter Malaysia

Some 37 Bangladeshis were reportedly nabbed by the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) as they tried to enter the country illegally by boat in waters off Kuala Sepang in Selangor.

Melaka and Negri Sembilan MMEA Director Capt Iskandar Ishak said his men also detained four Indonesians who tried to smuggle in the migrants on the boat during the operation.

"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.

Captain Iskandar said the Indonesian coordinator and his assistants aged between 18 and 46 also failed to provide any identification documents when requested.

He said all 41 on board were then brought to the MMEA jetty and detained.

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 as the country entered the transition to the Covid-19 pandemic phase.

Copyright: The Star/ Asia News Network (ANN)