Cross-border Crime: Perlis Police Step Up Intelligence, Enforcement Operations

PADANG BESAR, June 29 (Bernama) -- Police will continue to strengthen cooperation with other enforcement agencies and step up intelligence operations to ensure the state remains safe and secure, said Perlis police chief Datuk Muhammad Abdul Halim.

He confirmed that since May, 11 boat captains and 33 undocumented migrants have been detained in Perlis under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007, noting that eight separate cases have been logged during the period.

“In May, five cases were recorded, involving the detention of 21 undocumented migrants from Myanmar, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, alongside seven boat captains, including a Thai national.

“For June, three cases were recorded involving the detention of four boat captains and 12 undocumented migrants from China and Myanmar,” he told a press conference at the Padang Besar district police headquarters today.

Most of those detained under ATIPSOM are believed to be linked to other criminal activities, including drug smuggling and firearms possession, Muhammad said.

Meanwhile, he said police have not ruled out the possibility that some of the undocumented migrants entered Malaysia across the border after fleeing northern Thailand, following a major crackdown on online scam syndicates by Thai authorities.

"Consequently, police will continue to tighten border controls, particularly along illegal smuggling routes, in cooperation with other enforcement agencies to curb any infiltration attempts by land or sea," he said.

-- BERNAMA