SIBU: Soldiers on border patrol have arrested a group of 16 Indonesians who snuck into Sarawak in search of jobs.

       The First Infantry Division Malaysia said in a statement on Sunday (Nov 14) the group comprised 11 men aged 19 to 45, five women aged 21 to 39, and a six-year-old boy.

       They were caught at about 3.30pm on Saturday (Nov 13) near an oil palm plantation in Biawak, Lundu.

       "A team of soldiers on beat duty tracked the 16 individuals who (walked across) the Malaysian border from the Indonesian side," the statement said.

       Upon inspection, all of them were found without valid travel documents.

       "All of them admitted entering the state to find jobs. They have been sent to the Lundu police station for further action," it added.

       The statement said the successful arrest showed that soldiers stationed at the Sarawak and West Kalimantan border were committed in safeguarding the country's sovereignty especially in preventing the entry of undocumented migrants, cross-border crime and the spread of Covid-19 in the state.