Selangor: The Selangor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained 55 foreign nationals, including an infant, believed to be attempting to illegally enter and leave the country in two separate boats in the waters of Bagan Nakhoda Omar, Sabak Bernam, early yesterday.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the agency's director, Maritime Captain Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh, reported that an unregistered fiberglass boat was intercepted at 12:30 am on January 26, about 1.5 nautical miles southwest of Bagan Nakhoda Omar. The boat was attempting to enter Malaysia from Tanjung Balai, Indonesia. Inspection revealed that it was operated by a 36-year-old Myanmar skipper, with 26 Indonesian nationals on board, including 17 men, nine women, and a child aged between five and 53. Additionally, two local men aged 46 and 49 were on the boat, believed to have exited and were attempting to re-enter the country via illegal routes.
The second boat was intercepted around 2 am, about two nautical miles southwest of the same area, involving a pom-pom boat attempting to leave the country. The boat was operated by a skipper and two crew members, all Indonesians aged between 22 and 32. Further inspection found 24 illegal immigrants on board, comprising 19 men and five women aged between 22 and 64, as well as a three-month-old baby. All those detained failed to produce valid identification documents. The illegal immigrants and the seized boats were escorted to the marine police jetty in Pulau Indah for further action. The case is being investigated under the Immigration Act 1953/63 for entering and leaving the country via non-gazetted routes and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (ATIPSOM) 2007 for attempting to smuggle in illegal immigrants.
Abdul Muhaimin stated that each individual aboard the boats was believed to have been charged between RM1,500 and RM2,500, depending on gender and drop-off location. Since the beginning of the year, Selangor MMEA has detained more than 100 suspects, most of whom are illegal immigrants, indicating an increasing trend of boats attempting to cross the country's maritime borders. The increase may be linked to preparations for the upcoming Ramadan and Aidilfitri celebrations.
Enforcement operations will therefore be intensified, and the media is urged to help convey this message to the public. MMEA will not compromise with anyone involved in cross-border crimes and will continue to step up operations in Malaysian waters. He also urged the public to channel information on maritime criminal activities to the Selangor MMEA operations centre at 013-6606652 or via the emergency hotline 999 for immediate action.