KOTA BHARU, Feb 17 — The promise of lucrative payouts has led some locals to risk smuggling illegal immigrants into the country.
Kelantan Immigration Department director Mohamed Yusoff Khan Mohd Hassan said illegal immigrants who were interrogated revealed that smugglers were paid an average fee of RM4,500 per person, depending on their nationalities, whether they are from Myanmar, India or Bangladesh.
“The payment could be even higher if they are transported to other locations such as Selangor and Johor. Most of them are brought into the country through illegal border crossings at specific times to avoid detection by the authorities.
“It is no surprise that these smugglers are willing to take the risk despite knowing their actions are against the law,” he told reporters at a media engagement event with the Kelantan media here yesterday.
Mohamed Yusoff said the illegal immigrants smuggled into the country are usually housed in transit homes or hotels before being sent to their next destination.
“These illegal immigrants enter the country through syndicates, where traffickers charge fees based on headcount and destination,” he said.
In another development, the Immigration Department encourages Malaysians travelling to Thailand to use passports due to the limited supply of border passes.
“For now, border passes can only be issued at Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) with a daily limit of 200 passes.
“They are still available but supply is running low, and we expect demand to surge during the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration,” he added
— Bernama
