The Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) detained 16 Indonesians in two operations at Ladang Sungai Tengah and Ladang Brunai, Bandar Penawar, Johor this morning.

The Malaysian Third Infantry Division Headquarters, Terendak Camp Melaka, said in a statement that all the individuals, aged 20 to 40-year-old, were detained by members of the 61st Royal Artillery Regiment (61 RAD) under Op Benteng.

"The team acted on information from personnel on duty at the Ladang Sungai Tengah tower who have detected the presence of a suspicious-looking foreign boat around 1 am.

"They also arrested two Indonesian men and a woman who were believed to be waiting for a boat to take them back to Indonesia," he said in a statement today.

The 61 RAD team also detained a skiff boat (bot pancung), outboard engine, seven mobile phones worth, RM1,550 in cash and 21.1 million (RM6,236) in Indonesian rupiah, all worth RM36,000, he added.

Meanwhile, the second arrest, was also due to information furnished by personnel at the watch tower who had detected the presence of an unknown boat at the Brunai Farm area around 2 am.

"The swift action of the 61 RAD team led to the arrest of six Indonesian men and seven women who were believed to have just arrived in the country. Seizures were worth RM8,000," he said.

All the individuals were handed over to the Bayu Damai Police Station for further action before undergoing the COVID-19 test.

According to the statement, the effort to track illegals was continued with the help of a drone team from the Defence Staff Intelligence Division. - BERNAMA