76 Myanmar Illegal Immigrants Detained At Bukit Kayu Hitam

BUKIT KAYU HITAM, (Kedah) Dec 16 (Bernama) - The Anti-Smuggling Unit (UPP) detained 76 Myanmar illegal immigrants in a raid on an unoccupied house in Kampung Padang Satu, here Tuesday morning. Kedah UPP deputy commander (operation) Noor Mohamed Shaik Alauddin said a team raided the house at 9am after receiving information from the public. On inspection, 65 male and seven female did not possess travel documents while four other men had expired travel documents. The Myanmar illegal immigrants were between 17 to 61 years old. They were brought from Johor Baharu, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kulim by a syndicate run by a Myanmar who stayed here for some time. He said each illegal immigrant was charged between US$143 (RM500) and US$273 (RM950) to be smuggled out of the country. "The Myanmar immigrants usually stay illegally in this country between two to three years. They want to get out to escape the massive operation against illegals," he told a press conference at the UPP Office, here Tuesday. Noor Mohamed said the illegal immigrants were gathered in the house since Monday night after fetched by the syndicate in Changlun after arrival by bus. The 76 Myanmar illegals were detained under Section 6(1)(c) of Immigration Act 1959/63 (amended 2002) while four others were detained under Section 15 (1) (c) of Immigration Act 1959/63 (amended 2002) for overstaying in the country. The case will be handed over to the Immigration Department for further action. The UPP detained 274 illegal immigrants in Kedah from Jan 1 to Dec 15 and most of them were Myanmar nationals. -- BERNAMA