Soldiers flank the three local tekong darat.
KUCHING (May 24): The Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) foiled an attempt to smuggle in 18 illegal immigrants via a jalan tikus (illegal entry point) around the Kandaie Sector in Lundu yesterday (May 23).
The incident occurred around 5.20pm, around 2km from the Malaysia-Indonesia border.
A First Division Infantry spokesman said three locals — two men and a woman — believed to be tekong darat (ground coordinators), were detained along with the illegal immigrants aged between 19 and 49.
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“A team of personnel had been mobilised to carry out an ambush in the Kandaie Sector to arrest three locals believed to be tekong darat along with the 18 illegal immigrants,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Following an interrogation, it was discovered that one of the tekong darat would act as a lookout on a motorcycle to ensure safe passage along the jalan tikus, while the other two tekong darat would transport the illegal immigrants in a one-tonne lorry.
“However, their efforts were thwarted by a team of our members, who acted quickly without the group’s knowledge,” said the spokesman.
According to him, further examination found that all the foreigners, who said they wanted to find work in Malaysia, did not have valid travel documents.
All those detained were taken to the Lundu District police headquarters for further action.