The US Senate is investigating allegations that officials in Malaysia were extorting money from foreign migrants and were linked to human trafficking, American officials said.

The migrants, mostly from military-ruled Burma but also from other countries, were allegedly taken by the government officials to the border between Malaysia and Thailand, where they were extorted or sold to human trafficking syndicates.

The probe is being conducted by the US Senate foreign relations committee and the findings will be relayed to key US enforcement agencies and Interpol for possible action, Senate officials said.

"US Senate foreign relations committee staff are reviewing reports of extortion and human trafficking from Burmese and other migrants in Malaysia, allegedly at the hands of Malaysia government officials," a committee staff member told AFP .

"The allegations include assertions that Burmese and other migrants - whether or not they have UNHCR documentation-- are taken from Malaysian government detention facilities and transported to the Thailand-Malaysia border," the official said.

At the border, they alleged, "money is demanded from them, or they are turned over to human traffickers in southern Thailand."

Sold to traffickers

Some of the immigrants from Burma and other countries are refugees recognized by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Since 1995, about 40,000 refugees from Burma have resettled in the United States, many going through Malaysia.

US Senate foreign relations committee staff have travelled to Malaysia, Thailand, and the Malaysia-Thailand border, collecting information as part of the investigations, officials said.

"If all reports are accurate, then as many as a few thousand Burmese migrants in Malaysia may have been taken to the Malaysia-Thai border in recent years," the committee staff member said.

"If they pay, they return to Malaysia. If not, they are sold to traffickers, according to the reports," the official said.

Burma has been under international fire for years over human rights abuses and many citizens had fled the impoverished nation to neighboring countries, where they mostly stay illegally or apply for refugee status and seek resettlement in the West.

- AFP