KUALA LUMPUR:Additional armoured vehicles and personnel from the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) will be deployed to the Malaysia-Thailand border beginning today to strengthen the country’s border control, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.

This move is implemented following the second attack on General Operations Force (GOF) personnel on duty at the national border on Wednesday, after the first attack a day earlier which killed one of its personnel and seriously injured another.

He said teams from CID and NCID as well as 69 Commando Unit would be mobilised to the border area to cripple the smuggling activities.

“The swift action of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has successfully thwarted drug trafficking and smuggling activities with the Kedah police seized more than 100 kilogrammes of heroin estimated to be worth RM10 million yesterday evening,” he told Bernama.

Abdul Hamid also expressed his pride in the GOF personnel’s dedication to continue perform their duties whole-heartedly despite attacks.

“The attack did not dampen the spirit of GOF officers and personnel on duty in the border area,” he said.

The media yesterday reported that a GOF personnel suffered minor injuries after being shot while patrolling at the Malaysia-Thailand border near Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah in the 6.15 pm incident.

As a result, Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department director Datuk Seri Abd Rahim Jaafar said that the GOF tasked with controlling the Malaysia-Thailand border will change its patrol strategy and system there to curb any smuggling activities.

The change in strategy is necessary due to frequent shooting incidents in the area which caused injuries to GOF personnel.

Apart from that, yesterday, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the National Task Force (NTF) implementing ‘Op Benteng’ was considering increasing the number of personnel in the Malaysia-Thailand border area involving various agencies.

In a related development, Chief of Defence Force Gen Tan Sri Affendi Buang said the MAF always strives to strengthen and streamline border security control through the frequency of patrols as well as the use of assets such as drones to detect any movement at national borders.

In the first incident at 3.10 am on Tuesday in Bukit Kayu Hitam, GOF’s Sergeant Baharuddin Ramli, 54, was killed, while his colleague Sergeant Norihan Tari, 39, was seriously injured in a shootout with smugglers at Border Wall TS9 control post near Padang Besar, Perlis.

-- BERNAMA