KUALA LUMPUR ~ Malaysian police arrested more than 100 Indonesians who were trying to return to their country illegally via the Malacca Strait, a senior police official said.
State marine police chief Marzuki Ismail said the group was caught hiding in a mangrove swamp off Port Klang, west of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
The 102 Indonesians, including 35 women and four children aged between two and four were detained on Tuesday after avoiding police in the swamp for several days, he said.
“We also found two boats nearby that were supposed to be used to transport them back to Indonesia for the coming fasting month and Idul Fitri celebration,” he said.
“They were weak when we arrested them and they did not try to escape,” he said.
Almost two million Indonesian workers, including 800,000 illegal immigrants, were living in Malaysia as of February this year, according to the Indonesian embassy.