00:01A local man suspected of being a ground handler was detained with 37 illegal immigrants from
00:07Myanmar, including a six-month-old baby, during an operation along the banks of Sungai Kelantan
00:13near Kampung China, Kotabharu, early Tuesday. Kelantan MMEA Director Maritime Captain Kamal
00:21Mohamad said the arrests were the agency's biggest so far this year, following intelligence
00:27on migrant smuggling activities through unauthorized routes. He said an MMEA patrol boat detected a
00:34suspicious speedboat moving without lights in Kuala Basar waters at about 5.20 a.m. The boat fled
00:42into a narrow, shallow river route, making it difficult for the patrol boat to pursue. MMEA then
00:49deployed a land operations team to the banks of Sungai Kelantan, where the group was intercepted
00:55and detained. The 37 Myanmar nationals comprised 25 men, 11 women and a baby boy, while the local
01:03man was 40. Checks found seven of the Myanmar nationals had passports but no valid travel
01:10records for entry into Malaysia, while another had no identification documents. The local man tested
01:17positive for methamphetamine in an initial urine screening and is being investigated under the
01:23anti-trafficking in persons and anti-smuggling of migrants act for suspected involvement in migrant
01:30smuggling. The Myanmar nationals are being investigated under the Immigration Act for allegedly entering and
01:37remaining in Malaysia without valid documents and travel records.
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