KL troops boost security on border

KL troops boost security on border

MALAYSIA: Malaysian soldiers have stepped up patrols along the country's long, porous border with Thailand to prevent weapons smuggling and illegal immigration, the military said on Thursday.

Officials have been increasingly concerned that Malaysia might be used as a transit point for arms smuggling after gunmen stole automatic rifles from two military outposts in southern Thailand in April, Brig. Gen. Sunar Morlin, commander of the Sixth Infantry Brigade in northern Malaysia said.

Thailand's deep south, which neighbors peninsular Malaysia's northern states, has long been plagued by violence from armed gangs, some of whom claim to be Muslim separatists. Others engage in criminal extortion.

Malaysian troops patrolling the Thai border have detained scores of illegal immigrants from Myanmar and some rice smugglers in recent months, but no suspected weapons traders. --AP