KL police probe smuggling syndicate

KL police probe smuggling syndicate

MALAYSIA: Malaysian police are investigating whether government officials are helping syndicates involved in human smuggling, after several traffickers and their foreign victims were mysteriously released from detention, a newspaper said on Sunday.

Three suspected operators of a trafficking network, 31 Chinese citizens traveling on stolen South Korean passports and two Sri Lankans using forged Malaysian passports were nabbed when they flew into Turkey on Oct. 1 while trying to enter Europe, the New Sunday Times reported.

Turkish airport authorities sent them back on a Malaysia Airlines flight to their previous stop, Kuala Lumpur, where they were handed over to immigration officials, the newspaper said, citing anonymous sources.

However, the traffickers were then freed and allowed to fly to Thailand. The illegal immigrants were also released and given documents allowing them to leave Malaysia.

Musa Hassan, Malaysia's police director of criminal investigations, has ordered a probe into whether the incident indicated that trafficking syndicates have enlisted the help of corrupt government officials, the report said. Federal police were not immediately available to provide other details. -- AP