JOHOR BARU, Jan 6 — The smuggling syndicate linked to the boat capsize incident, off Tanjung Balau, Kota Tinggi on December 15 in which 21 undocumented immigrants died, has been identified.

Johor acting police chief, Johor Datuk Khaw Kok Chin, however, said he could not reveal more on the matter as the case was still being investigated.

"We have identified the syndicate in the ‘bot pancung’ (long boat) incident but I can’t provide the details to the media (such as whether it’s a Malaysian or Indonesian syndicate involved) as our plan could fail.

"If we are successful in our investigation and in identifying the skipper involved, we would disclose it to the media,” he told a news conference held at the Johor state contingent police headquarters, here, today.

Khaw said that so far, 19 bodies out of the 21 Indonesian nationals who died in the incident had been sent back to the republic via the sea route while the other two were still in the identification process.

Yesterday, the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, here, through a statement on its official Facebook page, announced that eight bodies were sent back on January 4 using an Indonesian Marine Police ship, KP Laksmana 7012, bringing the number to 19 so far.

Meanwhile, Khaw said that cooperation and sharing of information between the Johor police contingent and Indonesian police, as well as the assistance of the relevant agencies of both countries had brought success, especially in Op Benteng throughout last year.

"From the close cooperation, 137 raids were conducted and 73 boat skippers arrested, comprising 30 locals, 40 Indonesians, two Pakistan nationals and a Thai.

"Following the raids, 29 probe papers were opened and the investigation conducted under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, where 19 charges were made against 38 Indonesian boat skippers, with the cases still being heard in court,” he said. — Bernama