Feb 10, 2010
JOHOR BARU - POLICE have busted a human trafficking syndicate with the arrest of a 34-year-old Singaporean.
Johor police chief Deputy Commissioner Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said the 37 foreigners who had been rescued included Vietnamese, Indonesians and Filipinos.
'We carried out a raid at a house in Taman Universiti at around 2am on Saturday,' he said, adding that the Singaporean had been placed in remand while the others were taken to Kuala Lumpur. Out of the 30 Vietnamese, two were boys aged between 11 and 14 while the rest were aged between 20 and 49.
The deputy commissioner said the foreigners had entered Malaysia at legal entry points and some even had valid stamps on their travel documents.
'We believe that they were on transit to another country,' he said, adding that Johor police would not allow the country to be used as a transit point for human trafficking.
The police believe the Singaporean, whose identity was not revealed, was 'managing' the foreigners. They are investigating the case under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. -- THE STAR/ANN, BERNAMA
