Malaysian police have detained 21 Afghans believed to have paid $1,300 each to be smuggled to Australia by boat, an official said Sunday. The Afghan men and a Malaysian skipper were taken into custody Wednesday on a riverbank in central Selangor state, said a local police official, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to make public statements. Villagers alerted police to the group of foreigners after seeing them milling around after their boat failed to show up, he said. The Afghans, who arrived in Malaysia only recently, have been detained for investigations. Many of them did not have valid travel documents. Police are still looking for several more foreigners believed to have escaped. The skipper is being investigated on suspicion of human trafficking – an offense that carries a maximum jail term of 20 years, the official said.
