By Aida Aziz
LUMUT: A wooden boat carrying 36 Indonesian nationals, including two pregnant women and three children, believed to be undocumented migrants, was detained during an enforcement operation about 9.4 nautical miles southwest of the Sungai Belukang estuary last Friday.
Perak Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director Maritime Captain Mohamad Shukri Khotob said the operation was carried out by the Perak State Maritime Headquarters (IPMN Perak).
He said following intelligence and surveillance on criminal activities in the state’s waters, an IPMN Perak asset was placed on standby to conduct an operation against a vessel suspected of being involved in the smuggling of undocumented migrants.
“IPMN Perak deployed an operations team to the area and detected a vessel believed to be a traditional Indonesian fishing boat before successfully intercepting it for inspection.
“Inspection found that the vessel was carrying 36 individuals, comprising three crew members, including the skipper, and 33 passengers.
“All of them were Indonesian nationals aged between two and 57. Two were pregnant women, while three were children, one boy and two girls.
“Further inspection also found several passports, Indonesian identity cards and luggage belonging to all the individuals,” he said.
The inspection found that all the individuals were suspected of committing an offence under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for failing to use authorised entry or exit routes into Malaysia.
The case is also being investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (ATIPSOM) 2007.
All detainees, together with the vessel, were taken to a jetty before being handed over to Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency investigating officers for investigation and further action under the prevailing laws.
The MMEA takes seriously any attempt to use unauthorised maritime routes to enter or leave the country.
The use of an unregistered vessel and travel through unauthorised routes could also pose safety risks to those involved, particularly when movements are carried out without complying with maritime regulations and safety requirements.
