By: V. Shankar Ganesh

PORT KLANG, MALAYSIA - Human traffickers seem unperturbed by the adverse publicity they have been getting and continue to use the country as a transit point.

Their latest attempt to smuggle out 42 Afghans and Pakistanis from Port Klang to Australia via Indonesia was foiled when the marine police nabbed them at Pulau Indah here yesterday morning.

Police first stopped three small boats filled with 35 people, including 14 Indonesians, at midnight on Saturday.

It was then revealed that they were being sent to a mother ship anchored near Sungai Condong, which would take them to Sumatra.

Selangor marine police chief Deputy Superintendent Marzuki Ismail said police then started an operation to locate the mother ship and searched the waters off Pulau Indah.

About 9.50am, the ship was located with 21 Afghans on board.

He said all the Afghans and Pakistanis had valid passports and had entered the country last week through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Marzuki said initial investigations revealed that each of them had paid US$1,300 (RM4,600) to middlemen for their journey.

He said marine police had beefed up the intelligence network recently with the help of Bukit Aman police headquarters and local fishermen.

Marzuki said since January, Selangor marine police had nabbed 93 Afghans, Pakistanis and Iraqis.

He said they were tracking down the mastermind of the trafficking syndicate.

--NST