Fishing boat with 59 illegals held

SABAK BERNAM: A bid to smuggle Indonesians back to their country was foiled when a boat carrying 59 illegal immigrants was intercepted by marine police about two nautical miles off Tanjung Sauh here.

Acting on a tip-off, the team intercepted the fishing boat, believed to be bound for Tanjung Balai, Indonesia, at about 1.30am yesterday.

Upon checking, police found the boat filled with 47 men and 12 women.

Fourteen of the men and five women did not have valid travel documents while 40 others, including seven women, had overstayed in Malaysia.

Marine Police Region 1 commander Asst Comm Mohd Yusof Abdullah said police detained the boat’s 54-year-old Indonesian captain along with two Indonesian crew.

“Those detained were brought to the marine police base in Port Klang for questioning. We will investigate to uncover the full extent of this syndicate,” he said.

ACP Mohd Yusof said the case was classified under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, and Immigration Act 1963.

Caught: The group of illegal immigrants detained at the Port Klang Marine Police base after their boat was intercepted in Sabak Bernam.