JOHOR BARU, April 30 — Enforcement agency officers and personnel are among several individuals suspected as masterminds behind migrant smuggling syndicates in Johor. 

Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said police have identified and put under surveillance 20 groups, including local syndicates and those hiding in Batam, Indonesia.

“Meanwhile, police are focusing on less than 10 masterminds comprising enforcement agency officers and personnel,” he told reporters here, today. 

He said the police were also concentrating on efforts to detect and detain land and sea tekong (boat skippers) who carried out migrants smuggling activities, rather than focusing on arresting the migrants like before.

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Ayob Khan also warned owners of land, rented houses, homestays, hotels and construction quarters against harbouring migrants of smuggling syndicate by providing them shelters or hideouts.

 “Similarly, taxi drivers, who abetted with the syndicates by sending migrants to their hideouts would also face actions,” he said. 

In a recent development, Ayob Khan said police had detained 20 skippers and 24 Indonesian migrants in Op-Pintas Bersepadu Selatan through nine raids in Iskandar region and Kota Tinggi, between April 22 to 27. 

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He said the skippers detained comprised nine local men and a local woman, as well as nine Indonesian men and an Indonesian woman aged 20 to 57 years old, while all migrants arrested were made up of 21 Indonesian men and three Indonesian women aged 19 to 31 years old.

Police also seized one fake pistol, eight .38 live bullets, a Proton Wira which acted as a taxi, 27 mobile phones, and cash worth RM2,000 as well as 3.95 million Indonesian Rupiah.

All of them are investigated under Section 26A of ATIPSOM 2007, Section 6(1)(C) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, Section 8 and Section 36 of the Firearm Act 1960 and Regulation 11 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases 2020.

Through the Op-Pintas Bersepadu Selatan, which involved various agencies, surveillance has been enhanced at main entry points into the country during movement control order and in the future,” he said. — Bernama