KUCHING, Jan 16: A local man was arrested by the police for an attempt to smuggle five Indonesian men into the state illegally through “jalan tikus” in Serian, today.
Serian district police chief DSP Aswandy Anis said, the arrest was made at 7.50 am, after a team of police from the General Operation Force (GOF) stopped a suspicious looking four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle at a palm oil plantation in Jalan Mongkos-Serian, near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
“The 4WD vehicle, which was driven by a 29-year-old local man, was found to have been carrying five Indonesian men, with expired passports.
“Shortly after that, another Indonesian man arrived at the location on a motorcycle, and admitted to be the leader of the five Indonesian men who were arrested earlier. Further inspection found that the man also carried an expired passport.
All of the men were later arrested under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (Atipsom) 2007 and the Immigration Act 1959/63,” he said in a statement today.
Aswandy noted the six Indonesian men, aged between 21 to 46 years, are from Pontianak and Sinkawang in Indonesia and believed to have entered the state trying to look for jobs.
He said police also confiscated the 4WD vehicle, together with one motorcycle during the operation.
“The local man was remanded under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012, and investigated under Section 26A of the Atipsom 2007, while the six Indonesian men were arrested and investigated under the Immigration Act,” he added.
“Stern action will be taken against any “tekong darat” found to be involved in immigrant smuggling activities under the existing law, and the police are monitoring the situation continuously,” he added. — DayakDaily
