KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia has arrested more than a dozen members of an alleged people trafficking syndicate after intercepting a ship carrying 127 Sri Lankan migrants believed to be bound for Australia and New Zealand, authorities said Saturday (May 5). Malaysian police said in a statement more than 130 Sri Lankans believed to be heading for Australia and New Zealand were intercepted when Malaysian authorities halted the modified tanker on Tuesday off the coast of southern Johor state. In a media release on Saturday, authorities said the tanker bearing the name Etra had been carrying 98 men, 24 women, four boys and five girls - all Sri Lanka citizens. The police chief said in a statement on Saturday that authorities arrested 16 people involved in an “international network” of people smugglers, including three Indonesians and four Malaysians aboard a fishing vessel used to transport the migrants from the Johor coast to the tanker. Four Sri Lankan men were arrested aboard the tanker for suspected involvement in the trafficking network, which Mohamad said had been operating since 2017.
Malaysian authorities announce sixteen arrests connected to an international human trafficking ring. The arrests follow the seizure of modified tanker ship MV Etra in Malaysian waters on Tuesday with 127 Sri Lankan migrants on board being smuggled to New Zealand and Australia. The arrests include seven people captured aboard a fishing vessel used to transfer migrants onto MV Etra.