The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency, MCBA in short, barred at least 198 foreigners, including 123 Bangladeshis, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport from entering Malaysia for failing to meet immigration requirements.
Malaysia鈥檚 state news agency Bernama on Friday quoting MCBA reported the violations, including dubious accommodation bookings, failure to report to the immigration, and insufficient funds to support their stay, as reasons for barring them from entering the country.
MCBA director-general Shuhaily Mohd Zain said that a coordinated operation, carried out from the early morning to 5:00pm on Thursday at both KLIA Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, was executed with the support of behavioural profiling teams and stealth surveillance officers.
He said that many of those denied entry did not possess the necessary documents, adequate funds, or foreign currency, adding that some failed to provide hotel bookings while others gave vague travel purposes -- all of which made them unfit for entry under immigration laws.
鈥楾hese are classic red flags of non-genuine travellers. Many had no accommodation plans and could not explain their presence here, which strongly aligns with what we鈥檝e observed in smuggling attempts,鈥� he said at a press conference at Kuala Lumpur airport on Thursday night.
He further said that immigration officials discovered photos of Malaysian immigration officers on the mobile phones of several of the detainees. The authorities are now considering the incident as a potential security breach and are investigating whether the individuals were connected to any trafficking ring or syndicate, he also said.
Of the total, 128 were intercepted at Terminal 1, including 123 Bangladeshis, two Pakistanis, two Indonesians, and one Syrian. The remaining 70, held at Terminal 2, included 51 Indonesians, 13 Indians, four Pakistanis, and two Vietnamese nationals.
On July 11, 96 Bangladeshis were similarly deported from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after arriving with tourist visas.
Those barred entry will be deported under the 鈥楴ot to Land鈥� procedure, by airlines responsible for returning them to their countries of origin.
Shuhaily warned that operations would continue to ensure Malaysia was not used as a transit hub for illegal entry.
