KUCHING: The General Operations Force (GOF) conducted four successful Ops Benteng Covid operations, leading to the arrest of illegal immigrants who entered the state in the past four days (Oct 16 to 19).
Sarawak GOF commander SAC Mancha Ata said the first operation took place last Friday (Oct 16) around 4pm at Kampung Padang Pan, Bau near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
A GOF 11th Battalion team arrested two Indonesian men, believed to have entered Sarawak via a rat trail.
“The duo failed to produce any legal entry document and was ordered to return to their country the same way they came in.
“They had committed offenses under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) and Section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1959 (Act 155),” he said in a statement.
Last Friday, two Indonesians were ordered to return to their country after they had entered Sarawak illegally at Kampung Padang Pan, Bau. 
GOF 11th Battalion officers found nine Indonesians hiding behind an eatery after entering Sarawak illegally at Biawak ICQS, Lundu last Saturday.
The next day (Oct 17) around 7.45am, a team arrested nine Indonesian men, who were hiding behind an eatery near the Biawak Immigration and Customs Quarantine Complex (ICQS), Lundu.
The group was suspected to have entered Sarawak via a rat trail at Ladang Pasir Jaya, and had failed to produce any legal entry document and were ordered to return to their country.
SAC Mancha said the third operation took place last Sunday (Oct 18) around 7.50am at the Kampung Telok Serabang junction.
A few suspicious individuals were spotted entering a vehicle by the side of the road and the team tailed the vehicle that was heading to Lundu.
“The team managed to pull the vehicle over for inspection and found three Indonesians (two women and a man) inside. The trio also failed to produce any legal travel documents.
“The vehicle owner was also arrested for offering a RM1,200 bribe to the team leader to avoid any legal action taken.
“In the operation, the team confiscated items worth RM45,200 and the arrests along with the seizures were handed over to the Lundu district police headquarters (IPD) and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Kuching for further action,” SAC Mancha stated, adding that they had committed offenses under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Atipsom) Act 2007, Section 17 (B) of the MACC Act 2009 and Section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1959 (Act 155).
In the fourth operation on Monday (Oct 19), a team from the Op Benteng Covid Pasir Tengah post arrested three Indonesians (two men and a woman) hiding in a storehouse behind an eatery around 7.10am in front of the Biawak ICQS, Lundu.
They admitted to entering Sarawak via a rat trail in the palm oil plantation field at Kampung Biawak.
SAC Mancha said throughout the Ops Benteng Covid operations this year, Sarawak GOF recorded 47 successful operations involving 187 arrests (36 locals and 151 illegal immigrants) and seizures worth RM372,332.
