Immigration officer among 16 hauled to court
Sixteen people, including an Immigration Department officer, have been charged in the Sessions Court here with alleged involvement in human trafficking activities.
The suspects, comprising Kedah Immigration officer Mohammad Jafnizal Mohammad Jafferi, 34; Malaysians Amran Che Man, 42, and Omar Rashid, 43; and 13 Rohingya, arrived at the court complex here in a police truck under heavy security at about 9am yesterday.
The Rohingya are Syed Husen
Syed Ahmed, 39; Mohd Ayas Hussain, 39; Mohamad Rafik Abdul, 35; Mohamad Ayub Sunail, 55; Karim Oli Ahmad, 26; Shamsul Alam Zakaria, 38; Mohammad Rashid Mohd Shobir, 30; Nor Mustafa Kaloo, 40; Mohd Hashim Osi Rahman, 39; Mohamad Zubir Abd Shukur, 44; Nur Mohamed Mugul Ahmed, 37; Mohiddin Mohd Rafiq, 48; and Abdullah @ Maung Hla Wing, 42; who hold permanent resident status.
The suspects, aged between 26 and 55, were charged with being members of Geng Husen Maungdaw between September 2019 and June 17 this year.
All of them were charged under
Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code for participation in a criminal organisation.
When the charge was read to them before Sessions Court judge Norsalha Hamzah by a court interpreter, all of the accused nodded in acknowledgement. However, no plea was recorded. Norsalha fixed Sept 8 for the case to be mentioned.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim prosecuted while lawyers Y. Anbananthan, Datuk Naran Singh, Mohd Rafiee Noordin, Abdul Rahim Md Yusuf, Norizan Yaacub, P. Selvaraj and V. Parthipan represented some of the accused.
Bukit Aman police crippled what is believed to be the largest human trafficking syndicate in the country during a special operation last month.
It was reported that the syndicates were not only involved in human trafficking, but also armed robbery.
A total of 111 people, including the masterminds from three organised crime groups known as Geng Otong, Geng Halim and Geng Husen Maungsaw, were detained in the operation.
The gangs were allegedly active in trafficking migrants from a neighbouring country over the past six years.