Southeast Brigade GOF commander Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the arrests were made at 6am following intelligence gathering on smuggling activities in the area.

He said the GOF Battalion 9 task force and the border intelligence unit intercepted seven vehicles believed to have been used to transport the migrants and driven by Myanmar nationals.

“Checks revealed that the vehicles were transporting 52 Myanmar nationals, comprising 37 men and 15 women aged between 18 and 40,” he said.

Radzi said a preliminary investigation found that the migrants had entered the country by sea, landing along the banks of Sungai Kelantan before being transported to Kuala Lumpur and several west coast states.

The migrants allegedly paid RM300 for domestic transit and more than RM4,500 to agents in Myanmar to enter Malaysia.

All the detainees will be handed over to the Kota Bharu police headquarters for further action after they are documented at the Ketereh police station.