KUALA LUMPUR Seven Thai soldiers and 14 Malaysians involved in a border-demarcation project have been detained for smuggling rice and firecrackers into Malaysia, police said Sunday.

The 21 detained Friday in northeast Kelantan state were members of the Malaysia-Thailand topography team assigned to survey the two countries' boundaries, police were quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

They included nine members of the northern region survey department, three Malaysian soldiers and two members of the General Operations Forceresponsible for anti-smuggling activities.

They were arrested after seven bags of rice and firecrackers were found in their pick-up truck, which had Thai number plates, at a road block in the state, police said.

State police chief Mohamad Najib Abdul Aziz said the suspects have been released on police bail pending investigations.

Surveillance stepped up

He said police have stepped up surveillance at all security posts and roadblocks following reports alleging that GOF officers were smuggling tonnes of Thai rice, worth millions of ringgit, into the country.

The arrests have not disrupted the border-demarcation work, he added.

Malaysia's national deputy police chief Jamil Johari (photo) was quoted by the Sunday Star as saying that police have started investigations into a rice-smuggling racket involving senior GOF personnels.

The newspaper said investigations showed the racket had been going on for more than two years.

Rice smugglers can earn a hefty profit as Thai white rice, which is sold for 80 sen a kilogram in Thailand, fetches RM2 here, it added.

Thai fragrant rice is sold here for RM3 compared with only one ringgit in Thailand. AFP