KUALA LUMPUR - A total of 1,018 Bangladeshi and Rohingya illegal immigrants were arrested Monday after their boats landed in Malaysia's northern resort Langkawi island, the country's state news agency Bernama quoted local police as saying.

It was reported that these immigrants landed in Malaysia after being dumped in shallow waters off the Langkawi island by human traffickers.

Langkawi Deputy Police Chief Jamil Ahmed said there were supposed to be three boats carrying 1,018 immigrants, adding that the number might grow with the search work going on.

It is believed that these boats were abandoned due to the recent measures taken by Thailand, their usual destination, to crack down on the trafficking of ethnic Rohingya Muslims bound for neighboring countries.