Criminal activities linked to national borders including shootings, smuggling of migrants as well as Macau scam fraud syndicates are among those that have riveted public attention throughout 2020.

Among the shocking events was the shoot-out with a group of smugglers at the Malaysia-Thailand border in Padang Besar, Perlis which resulted in the death of a member of the General Operations Force (GOF) and seriously injured his colleague on Nov 24.

Sergeant Baharuddin Ramli, 54, from Battalion 3 (Senoi Praaq), Northern Brigade, GOF, was killed after being shot on the left side of the abdomen while Sergeant Norihan a/l Tari, 39, was critical due to three shots in the ribs and...