24 Indian human-trafficking victims rescued in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR - Twenty-four Indians, believed to be victims of a human-trafficking racket, have been rescued from a locked terrace in a house in Sungai Siput area in Malaysia.

Two Pakistani men, aged 24 and 34, were arrested during a raid on the Malaysian National Day on suspicion of being involved in the racket.

CID chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Mohammedd Dzuraidi Ibrahim said the Indian victims, who were in their 20s and 30s, came from Uttar Pradesh four months ago.

“They were received by the two Pakistanis at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and were sent to work in a factory in Johor before they were moved to Sungai Siput. Investigations revealed the Indians were told to pay the Pakistani men RM300 each to be taken to Penang, where they were promised lucrative jobs,” The Star quoted, Ibrahim as saying.

“The house is a transit point before they are ferried out,” he added.

ACP Dzuraidi said the Pakistanis were remanded for a week and are being investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

He added all the Indian nationals had been sent to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport immigration depot, where they would undergo investigations for 14 days before being sent back to their home country. (ANI)