LAHAD DATU, May 27 — A total of 1,296 people believed to be undocumented foreigners (PATI) were detained in 17 Ops Gasak operations carried out in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone) since Nov 24 last year.
Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) operations director Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun said the group were among 3,323 people screened during the integrated operations coordinated by the agency involving police, army, maritime, immigration and national registration department.
He said ESSCom would continue to carry out similar operations to flush the ESSZone of undocumented foreigners.
“It is also to show that the government through ESSCom is serious in curbing the presence of PATI and cross border crime, to safeguard the security of the people in Sabah,” he said in a statement here today.
Abdul Rashid said besides the island resorts and coastal villages, the cage-fish farms in the area were also included in the Ops Gasak.
This followed the abduction on May 6, of a cage-fish farm manager at Pulau Baik, near Lahad Datu town by five armed men who had arrived in a boat.
Meanwhile, Abdul Rashid said 62 PATI, including 31 women were detained at Kampung Lok Bikin, Pulau Sakar near here during a three-hour Ops Gasak yesterday which began at 3.30pm. — Bernama
