Kota bharu: The Kelantan Immigration Department arrested two local men and five illegal immigrants in a crackdown on a migrant smuggling syndicate, carried out under Ops Serkap around Kota Bharu on Sunday and yesterday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the department's deputy director Nik Akhtarulhaq Nik Abdul Rahman stated that the five immigrants comprised two men and three women from Myanmar, aged 20 to 40. They were believed to have been brought into the country through an illegal base in Sungai Golok before boarding a boat to Gok Kapur Jetty in Sungai Kelantan, apparently to evade authorities.

"All the foreigners were subsequently taken to a transit point in Kampung Raja Seksyen Dua, but immigration officers, through surveillance and intelligence, foiled their attempt," he said in a media statement. The five immigrants are now being detained at the Tanah Merah Immigration Depot for further investigation under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.

Nik Akhtarulhaq also mentioned that the two local men arrested were believed to have acted as transporters in the smuggling network and were being investigated under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007. He emphasized that the department would not compromise with any party, particularly locals involved in smuggling activities or harbouring undocumented migrants, and urged the public to report any activities involving illegal immigrants to aid enforcement efforts in the state.