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Malaysian authorities deny KLIA transited Lebanese illegals

Charles Ramendran
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Authorities here are in the dark over a claim by German police that Malaysia was used as a transit point by a human trafficking syndicate that smuggled foreigners to Germany using counterfeit travel documents.

In a report by a foreign wire news agency yesterday, German police had apparently held 17 suspects including a 24-year-old mastermind in three states in a large scale operation that involved hundreds of police personnel.

The syndicate had earned about 10,000 euros (RM46,000) from each foreigner mainly Syrians and Lebanese it helped sneak into Germany.

The activities of the syndicate came to light after it facilitated the travel of a Lebanese family of 10 members who had landed in Malaysia recently and were held up at the KL International Airport (KLIA) after local authorities found them to be using falsified travel documents.

However, the report claimed that the Lebanese were allowed to resume they journey to Germany after the German Embassy and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office here intervened after being contacted by the foreigners.

UNHCR and tops brass of the police and immigration department here when contacted denied knowledge on encountering such case at the KLIA.

"We have no knowledge of such case taking place here. I would have been notified if it had happened," said Immigration Department Director-General Datuk Mustafa Ibrahim when contacted by theSun.

Officials of UNHCR Kuala Lumpur when contacted also said it was unaware of the case.

Malaysia has been in on the international radar of human trafficking crimes was in the news last year after it slipped to Tier 3 from Tier 2 in a downgrade by the US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons report.

However, in July this year, the US upgraded Malaysia to Tier 2 again after the State Department said "that while Malaysia does not fully meet minimum standards to eliminate trafficking, it was making significant efforts to do so."

German cops bust people-smuggling ring through Malaysia

German police have arrested 17 suspected members of a people-smuggling ring in raids in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Baden-Wuerttemberg. ― File pic

Nov 5 ― German police yesterday broke up an international ring of people smugglers whose members used falsified documents to bring foreigners into Germany, mainly by air, for a fee of up to €10,000 (RM46,612) per person.

A police statement said that 17 suspected members of the ring had been arrested in raids in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The ring provided foreign nationals, mostly Syrians and Lebanese, with falsified documents such as residency permits and travel documents.

The smugglers came to the attention of the authorities after several people making their way to Germany through Malaysia on falsified documents were arrested at Kuala Lumpur airport, which was used by the criminal ring as a transit port.

A 10-member Lebanese family travelling to Germany on false documents via Kuala Lumpur was arrested. The family was allowed to continue its journey to Germany on humanitarian grounds after it contacted the UN refugee office and the German embassy in the Malaysian capital.

The main suspect is a 24-year-old man who was arrested in the western city of Essen. Handguns, machetes, swords, laser aimers and passports were found in his possession.

Some 570 law enforcement officials and policemen took part in the operation.

Germany has become the favoured destination for hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. ― Reuters

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