LUNDU: Soldiers from the Third Infantry Brigade managed to foil an illegal entry bid by a total of 32 undocumented immigrants at an oil palm plantation here yesterday.
The immigrants comprised 20 men, nine women aged between 17 and 56, and three children aged between nine months and three years, has since been instructed to return to their country of origin.
A spokesman from the First Infantry Division said the incident happened around 3.45pm when the soldiers came across a group of suspicious individuals on motorcycles at an illegal route, some 150 metres from the Malaysia-Indonesia border.
All of the foreigners were detained for inspections and they found that none of them had any valid travel documents.
Other than that, no illegal items were found on them except for their personal belongings, which involved 19 motorcycles worth RM51,500, cash in Indonesian currency (estimated to be about RM10,000), and 24 smartphones.
The spokesman said all 32 foreigners were handed over to the Indonesian Army at Kumba Semuying post after lodging a police report at Lundu police station.
The army remains committed to maintain the country’s security and ensure the country’s sovereignty is preserved, by ensuring that there is no form of cross-border crimes being committed.
