KOTA TINGGI: An attempt by a group of 52 undocumented migrants to enter the country through an illegal route was busted by the Armed Forces.

       The Third Malaysian Infantry Division headquarters said its observation post spotted the movement of a boat heading towards the Pasir Logok shore here at around 2.30am on Monday (Nov 1).

       “A team from our Quick Reaction Force was sent to the beach and they managed to detain 22 Indonesians fresh off the boat at about 2.50am.

       “We continued pursuing the others and at around 4am, managed to arrest 26 others that were hiding in some bushes nearby.

       “It was dark at the time so there were some difficulties in searching for them,” it said in a statement, adding that another three migrants were detained at 9.30am and another one at 11.40am, bringing the total number of detainees to 52.

       The statement added that 44 of the Indonesian detainees were men while eight were women, all aged 19 to 53 years old.

       “We believe they had entered the country through an uncharted route.

       “Along with the arrests, we also seized RM8,640.39 worth of Indonesian currency, 35 mobile phones and jewellery,” it said.

       The division added that all the suspects were sent to the Tanjung Sepang tactical headquarters for follow-up action, including a Covid-19 screening.

       The suspects would be handed over to the Immigration Department in Setia Tropika, Johor Baru after that for further investigations, it said, adding that the division would continue looking out for the possibility of others who might have escaped from the scene.