ALOR SETAR: A total of 22 illegal immigrants who tried to sneak into the country surrendered to the authorities after they were found starving and weak near Bukit Tangga at Bukit Kayu Hitam here yesterday.
Sixth Brigade Commander Brigadier General Datuk Abdul Aziz Ismail said the illegal immigrants who were Myanmar nationals surrendered to the 5th Battalion Border Regiment (5RS) patrol team of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) in the hills near Pos 1 and 2.
“The arrests were conducted in two separate occasions with 16 men and four women detained in the first incident at about 9.40am after they were spotted walking in a suspicious manner in the hills.
“The patrol team led by Lieutenant Muhammad Farid Mahfoz managed to surround them, leading to them surrendering, and they were detained after they failed to produce any valid travel documents,” he said in a statement here today.
Later in the afternoon, a patrol team led by Sargeant Ahmad Rusli Mat Daud Abdul Aziz arrested two more Myanmar men in the hills near Pos 2 who were behaving suspiciously at 3.40pm.
Abdul Aziz said the two men who surrendered out of thirst were believed to be part of the first group which was detained in the morning.
“All the illegal immigrants were handed over to the Bukit Kayu Hitam Police Station for further action,” he said.
Abdul Aziz said he believed there were more people hiding in the Malaysia-Thailand border area, waiting for the right time to sneak into the country. – BERNAMA