KOTA KINABALU: A syndicate charging up to RM2,500 to smuggle foreigners into Sabah has been crippled by the state Immigration Department with the arrest of four locals here and in Penampang over the weekend.

       The four suspects, two men and two women aged 25 to 56, were arrested in two separate operations.

       The authorities also arrested a total of 11 Filipinos believed to have been brought into Sabah by the syndicate.

       Sabah Immigration director Datuk Sitti Saleha Habib Yussoff said nine of the foreigners were found in a four-wheel drive (4WD) that was bringing them here from Sandakan.

       "Investigations found that a vehicle driven by a 26-year-old local man was spotted moving from Sandakan at 9.30pm on Friday (Jan 26) towards Kota Kinabalu city," she told a press conference here on Monday (Jan 29).

       The Immigration team also identified a house in the Penampang area that was being used as a transit house for the undocumented migrants before they were ferried to other locations.

       "A total of 11 Filipinos (five men, three women, and three children) between the ages of eight months and 47 years were detained during the two raids at the house and from the 4WD," she said.

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       She said the syndicate provided services to bring in foreigners, especially Filipinos, at a cost of RM1,500 to RM2,500 per person.

       "Its modus operandi is to use Bakungan Besar Island in the Philippines to transit into Sabah via Sandakan sea (routes)," she said.

       All the foreigners have been placed at the Kota Kinabalu Immigration Detention Depot for investigation and follow-up action.

       The case is being investigated under Section 55E of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007 for harbouring, and Section 26(A) of the same law for human trafficking.