ISKANDAR PUTERI – A Singaporean man was among 31 individuals detained by the Johor Customs Department for being involved in migrant smuggling activities in December last year.
Johor customs director Aminul Izmeer Mohd Sohaimi said the man in his 50s was arrested at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar, Johor, after attempting to hide in the boot of a Perodua Myvi during a passenger check on December 13.
“Two Malaysian women in their 20s acting as migrant transporters have been charged under Section 26J of the Atipsom (Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants) Act 2007, while the migrants were charged under the Immigration Act 1959/63,” he said in a press conference at the Sg Pulai Customs Enforcement Complex in Gelang Patah near here today.
He said the man had paid SG$3,000 (RM10,549) to enter the country illegally.
He added that the man was sentenced to three months in prison and was deported from the country in mid-February.
Meanwhile, he said that on December 17, last year, the Johor Customs Department, through members of the Customs Enforcement Division’s Marine Unit, stopped and inspected a Proton Saga in Sabak Bernam.
He said the driver and passenger of the vehicle then led the authorities to a chalet.
“Inspections at the chalet revealed 28 individuals consisting of 26 Indonesian men, one Indonesian woman, and one Malaysian woman,” he said, noting that seven of them lacked identification documents.
“Some of them are suspected to be workers facilitating the movement back to Indonesia via illegal routes, believed to have committed offences under the Atipsom Act 2007,” he said.
As a result, he said three individuals were charged under Section 26A of the Atipsom Act 2007, and 25 Indonesian migrants under the Immigration Act 1959/63. – March 4, 2024