In May 2015, police discovered 139 graves and 106 bodies, believed to be Rohingyas, as well as 29 illegal immigrant detention camps deep in the jungles of Bukit Genting Perah and Bukit Wang Burma, a few hundred metres from the Malaysia-Thai border in Wang Kelian. \u2014 File picture by Sayuti Zainudin<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Malay Mail<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saturday, 02 Aug 2025 9:41 AM MYT<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PADANG BESAR, Aug 2 \u2014 Smuggling activities have resumed along the Malaysia-Thailand border in Wang Kelian, Perlis, with syndicates carving out new illegal routes, Utusan Malaysia<\/em> reported today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A four-hour trek and inspection led by Perlis police chief Datuk Muhammad Abdul Halim found piles of discarded water bottles \u2013 some believed to contain ketum juice \u2013 and makeshift hammocks tied between trees along a four-kilometre stretch from the Wang Kelian Immigration post to the border zone last Wednesday, the Malay daily reported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The authorities suspect they were used by smugglers as resting points while hauling loads of ketum \u2013 a psychotropic narcotic banned in Malaysia \u2013 across the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBased on the traces and our recent large ketum seizures \u2013 sometimes involving hundreds of kilograms \u2013 we believe these activities have been ongoing and that new routes are constantly being opened,\u201d he was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe routes are not permanent. When one area sees frequent patrols, smugglers will simply open another trail elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said surveillance of the route also revealed signs of movement, leftover food and drink containers, suggesting large-scale operations have been taking place for some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Muhammad said the smuggling activities usually occur at night or in the early morning to avoid detection, driven by high demand from across the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also noted that smugglers use jungle routes that are inaccessible by vehicle and impossible to monitor around the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of concern is the likelihood that the operations involve large groups, suggesting organised efforts possibly aided by locals under economic pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is not the work of one or two individuals. Given the size of the loads and the terrain involved, many people are likely involved,\u201d he was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To improve enforcement, Muhammad urged the government to consider building permanent barriers, such as fences or walls, to stem illegal border crossings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs it is, we\u2019re seeing smugglers cutting through fences. In open areas, it\u2019s even easier for them to move across,\u201d he was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said current measures include enhancing tactical patrols, improving information-sharing among field personnel so that enforcement actions can be quicker and more effective, but suggested that such steps might not be sufficient in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wang Kelian, a remote Perlis town bordering Thailand, remains a smuggling hotspot due to its rugged, unfenced terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was exposed in 2015 with the discovery of human trafficking camps and mass graves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In May 2015, police discovered 139 graves and 106 bodies, believed to be Rohingyas, as well as 29 illegal immigrant detention camps deep in the jungles of Bukit Genting Perah and Bukit Wang Burma, a few hundred metres from the Malaysia-Thai border in Wang Kelian. \u2014 File picture by Sayuti Zainudin By Malay Mail Saturday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2,1,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-international-news","category-local-news","category-science-it-ai-military-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2194"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2200,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions\/2200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}