27 immigration officials held in Malaysia over human trafficking
Malaysian Police nabbed its 27 immigration department personnel and the wife of a popular actor for their alleged involvement in a human trafficking syndicate.
The suspects including the 33-year-old woman were detained in a special operation conducted in Putrajaya on Tuesday, Malaysian daily The Star reports quoting Deputy Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim.
“They are suspected of falsifying documents to speed up entry of foreigners into the country without going through proper procedures,” he told the Malaysian daily.
Noor Rashid said police did not rule out the possibility that senior immigration officers were also involved in the case.
He said further investigations were being conducted to identify other individuals who might be involved.
Organised syndicates of human traffickers from Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmarese and Bangladeshis are operating the crimes to exploit the foreign workers mainly Bangladeshis through the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
At least 1,017 Bangladeshis and Rohingas were rescued from the traps of the human traffickers from Malaysia-South Thailand border last year.
The Malaysian and Thai police also rescued many mass graves believed to be victims from Bangladesh and Myanmarese being exploited by the human traffickers.
Malaysia is considered as one of the major destinations for the Bangladeshi and Myanmarese migrant jobseekers.
Currently, Malaysia is not hiring any foreign workers including the Bangladeshis since last February.
Around 4,00,000 lakh Bangladeshis are legally working on different sectors in Malaysia.
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