A TOTAL of 117 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones will be procured to boost surveillance of the nation’s borders under Ops Benteng, says Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz.

       “As part of the ongoing Ops Benteng, the government will be procuring 84 mini-UAVs and 33 drones at a cost of RM2.27mil.

       “The government also intends to procure operational equipment assets, including four night-vision binoculars for the Royal Malaysian Navy, 18 outdoor action cameras for the Royal Malaysian Air Force, and 63 ground tactical cameras as well as 30 walkie-talkies for the army,” he told Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman (PAS-Sik) in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

       Ikmal Hisham said this does not include the Armed Forces procurement of 19 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing drones and multi-rotary hybrid drones costing RM17.7mil last year.

       He said the Armed Forces has since taken delivery of three units of the VTOL drones and two of the hybrid drones.

       Ops Benteng, the ongoing operation against illegal immigrants, was launched in May last year.

       “As at Oct 31, 16,229 illegal immigrants have been detained under Ops Benteng while 3,666 were prevented from entering our borders after being chased away,” he added.

       He said RM684.7mil worth of contraband, vehicles and other goods were seized during the same period.

       He added that Ops Benteng was implemented under the National Task Force and involved joint operations by multiple enforcement departments and agencies.

       The joint operations are aimed at preventing smuggling and the entry of illegal immigrants into the country.