Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 · Updated to 30 Sep 2025 · Part IV · Enforcement
30. Search and seizure with warrant
Official textFrom Laws of Malaysia Online, unchanged
If it appears to a Magistrate, upon written information on oath and after such enquiry as the Magistrate considers necessary, that there is reasonable cause to believe that—
any premises or conveyance has been used or is about to be used for; or
there is in any premises or conveyance evidence necessary to the conduct of an investigation into, the commission of an offence under this Act, the Magistrate may issue a warrant authorizing any enforcement officer named therein, at any reasonable time, by day or by night, to enter the premises or conveyance.
A warrant issued under subsection (1) may authorise the enforcement officer to—
enforcement officer
“enforcement officer” means any officer specified in subsection 27(1) or any public officer appointed under subsection 27(1a);
search the premises or conveyance for, and to seize or remove from the premises or conveyance, any moveable property, book, record, report or document, or any human organ that is reasonably believed to furnish evidence of the commission of such offence; and
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Anti-Smuggling of Migrants 33
make copies of, or take extracts from any book, record, report or document found in the premises or conveyance.
An enforcement officer entering any premises or conveyance under this section may take with him such other persons or equipment as may appear to him to be necessary.
premises
“premises” means house, building, factory, land, tenement, easement of any tenure, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority, and includes any container; Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants 11
An enforcement officer may, in the exercise of his powers under this section, if necessary—
break open any outer or inner door of the premises or conveyance or any obstruction to the premises or conveyance in order to effect entry into the premises or conveyance;
remove by force any obstruction to entry, search, seizure or removal as he is empowered to effect under this section; and
detain any person found in the premises or conveyance until the search has been completed.
Where, by reason of its nature, size or amount, it is not practicable to remove any moveable property, book, record, report or document or any human organ seized under this section, the enforcement officer shall, by any means, seal such moveable property, book, record, report or document or any human organ in the premises or conveyance in which it is found.
conveyance
“conveyance” means any vehicle, vessel, ship, aircraft, or any other mode of transport whether by air, sea or land;
A person who, without lawful authority, breaks, tampers with or damages the seal referred to in subsection (5) or removes the moveable property, book, record, report or document or any human organ under seal, or attempts to do so, commits an offence.
Terms defined in s 2
conveyance
Defined · s 2“conveyance” means any vehicle, vessel, ship, aircraft, or any other mode of transport whether by air, sea or land;
enforcement officer
Defined · s 2“enforcement officer” means any officer specified in subsection 27(1) or any public officer appointed under subsection 27(1a);
premises
Defined · s 2“premises” means house, building, factory, land, tenement, easement of any tenure, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority, and includes any container; Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants 11
smuggling of migrants
Defined · s 2“smuggling of migrants” means— (a) arranging, facilitating or organizing, directly or indirectly, a person’s unlawful entry into or through, or unlawful exit from, any country of which the person is not a citizen or permanent resident either knowing or having reason to believe that the person’s entry or exit is unlawful; and (b) recruiting, conveying, transferring, concealing, harbouring or providing any other assistance or service for the purpose of carrying out the acts referred to in paragraph (a);
trafficking in persons
Defined · s 2“trafficking in persons” means all actions of recruiting, conveying, transferring, acquiring, maintaining, harbouring, providing or receiving, a person, for the purpose of exploitation, by the following means: (a) threat or use of force or other forms of coercion; (b) abduction; (c) fraud; (d) deception; (e) abuse of power; (f) abuse of the position of vulnerability of a person to an act of trafficking in persons; or (g) the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having control over the trafficked person;
Part V
Part VI