Jakarta: More than 130 Sri Lankans believed to be heading for Australia and New Zealand have been intercepted by Malaysian authorities, smashing a large people smuggling ring that has been operating for over a year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
National police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said authorities halted the tanker on Tuesday off the coast of southern Johor state.
"On May 1st, at approximately 2.02 am, Royal Malaysian Police in co-operation with Malaysian Maritime Enforcement and government legal officers have conducted 'Op Kenal Alpha 2/2018' and have successfully brought down a people smuggling operation involving Sri Lankan citizens using maritime passage in the area of Tanjung Gemuk waters, Sedili, Kota Tinggi, Johor," Harun said in a statement.
"With these arrests, the Royal Malaysia Police has successfully foiled a large and cunning human smuggling syndicate."
"This syndicate has been operating since mid-2017 and has international connections across Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Malaysia," he added.
Australia's Home Affairs Minister, Peter Dutton, said the operation demonstrated the "clear threat from criminal people smuggling syndicates remains and so must our efforts to maintain our border security".
"The need for Operation Sovereign Borders [the policy implemented by the Abbott government in 2013 to turn back asylum seeker boats at sea] is as vital today as it was when it began. Unfortunately, Labor’s support for tough border policies is ebbing away," he said.
"It is incumbent on Bill Shorten and his spokesman Shayne Neumann to publicly state their support for all OSB measures - failure to do so plays into the hands of the people smugglers."
A spokesman for Dutton said Australian authorities worked closely with their Malaysian counterparts on many levels to combat transnational crime. He would not comment further on what knowledge the federal government had had about the operation ahead of time.
But Mr Neumann fired back at his government counterpart, arguing Labor would never allow people smugglers to restart their business.
"Every time Peter Dutton lies about Labor’s strong position on border protection, he is a walking, talking billboard for the people smugglers. By playing petty politics, Peter Dutton is encouraging the people smugglers to restart their vile trade. He should know better," he said.
The Sri Lankan men will be charged under section 5 (2) of Malaysia's immigration law for illegally entering or exiting Malaysia.
The modified tanker carrying the Sri Lankan immigrants included 98 men, 24 women, four boys and five girls.
Harun said police also raided a fishing boat used to transport the migrants to the vessel and detained three Indonesians and four Malaysians on board. Another five Malaysians were later nabbed for suspected involvement in the smuggling syndicate.
The Turnbull and Abbott governments have taken a hard line approach to stopping asylum seekers who attempt to come to Australia by boat. At least 30 vessels have been intercepted.
with AP
