KUCHING: A total of 1,152 illegal immigrants were arrested throughout Sarawak from January 1 to August 15 this year, said state deputy police commissioner DCP Mancha Ata.
He said the arrests were in connection with various offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).
Of the total, 540 of them attempted to enter the state through rat trails but were caught by the authorities.
“Deportation was carried out to curb the entry of illegal immigrants to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 from outside of Sarawak, especially the Delta variant which has contributed to the increasing infection rate nowadays,” he said in a statement on Sunday (Aug 15).
As for cases involving the Anti-Trafficking In Person and Smuggling of Migrant (Atipsom) 2007, Mancha said 252 people were arrested on suspicion of being masterminds, better known as ‘tekong darat’ in the migrant smuggling syndicates.
“Of the arrests, 172 individuals have been charged in court while the remaining 80 are awaiting the completion of investigations into their cases.
“Conviction under Atipsom 2007 can result in imprisonment of 15 years or a fine or both,” he said.
In the meantime, Mancha stressed that the police will take drastic action to prevent illegal entries into the state.
“The police will continue its efforts to strengthen and tighten border security control in Sarawak, especially in Lundu, Bau, Serian, Sri Aman and Lubok Antu districts which are suspected to have many ungazetted routes from being breached by any form of cross-border crime, besides curbing Covid-19 transmission.
“We also call on all communities to channel all forms of information related to the entry of illegal immigrants and smuggling of migrants to any nearby police station. Cooperation from the community is needed to reduce the entry of illegal immigrants,” he added.
