KOTA BHARU - Illegal ports in Gergaji, Rahmat and Kajang are among the hot spots for smuggling around Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas for subsidised goods from Malaysia to the neighbouring country through Golok River.
The three locations were part of the 128 illegal bases throughout Golok River starting from Pos Ibrahim Pencen in Rantau Panjang to Pos Tanjong, Pengkalan Kubor in Tumpat which became the ports to smuggle in goods from Thailand such as rice, contraband and others.
The illegal bases were reported to have 'caretakers' that acted as their 'eyes' to relay information regarding the presence of authorities which allowed the perpertrators to escape when ambushed.
Most of the illegal bases were individually owned land, which made it difficult for authorities to perform their duties as a majority of the locations were covered by walls and would require the owner's permission to enter.
The tightened security in each of the illegal bases caused smugglers to consistently change locations to ensure their activities were on schedule.
However, the land structure, river currents and the environment should be considered for the smugglers in choosing their next base for their illegal activities.
Kelantan Acting Police Chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun said it was difficult for authorities to determine the hot spot bases among smugglers.
"This is because they constantly change their base locations.
"When locations change due to authorities, they move to other locations and so on," he told Sinar Harian recently.
He said it did not threaten the credibility of authorities even though they used multiple tactics as police had their own way to combat the illicit activities,
"For the record, Kelantan police have placed an emphasis on three layers of control in national borders, roadblocks and state borders.
"National borders usually would be under the General Operations Force (PGA) through an operation codenamed Op Wawasan.
"If there is a breach on the first layer, we will arrange a team in the second and third layer (state borders) through various means such as patrols by Mobile Patrol Vehicles and Motorcycle Patrol Units," he said.