KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has been on New Zealand immigration's radar screen for illegal immigrants since 2006 after 20 people were detained during a nine-month investigation ending in March 2007, according to online whistleblower WikiLeaks.
It reported that a confidential document on the nation's action plan against human trafficking had identified Malaysia, Hong Kong and South Korea as hotspots for illegal immigrants.
"In the case of Malaysia, while migrants are circumventing border control, New Zealand immigration is effectively identifying these cases through brothel raids.
"GNZ will continue to monitor Malaysia's visa free travel status and rescind it if that proves the only way to more effectively manage illegal migration from that country," the report said.
The WikiLeaks report, which was carried by nzherald.com an online newsportal, also noted that although New Zealand had "little or no trafficking problems", it was nonetheless monitoring all “suspicious” travel.
Detailing the situation, the report said between June 2006 and March 2007, 20 illegal immigrants exiting Malaysia managed to slip through New Zeland's Advance Passenger Processing (APP) system.
The APP requires airlines to identify passengers who may be seeking to enter New Zealand illegally before they board an overseas flight.
According to the report, monitoring of potential illegal immigrants and trafficking victims continued after passengers arrived in New Zealand and had passed through immigration and customs.
Field investigations, it noted, are carried out by immigration, visa, border control and other law enforcement officers.
The report said New Zealand's law enforcement officials conducted 1,300 investigations to identify illegal migrants including trafficking victims. While not a single trafficking case was found, the officers did stumble on 18 illegal immigrants from Hong Kong, one from South Korea and 20 from Malaysia.
"Although the number of illegal migrants remains small compared to the overall number of visa-free entrants, GNZ recognises the need to prevent more widespread abuses," it noted. - FreeMalaysiaToday
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