PUTRAJAYA, Feb 15 — The Immigration Department busted a syndicate involved in forging documents and arrested four foreign men, including two believed to be the masterminds, in a special operation around Kuala Lumpur and Selangor yesterday.
Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the raid was conducted by a team of officers and rank and file from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division of the Putrajaya Immigration Headquarters and Special Tactical Team (Pastak) following two weeks of intelligence and complaints received.
He said the two masterminds, a 28-year-old Indian national and a 31-year-old Bangladeshi, and the other two suspects, both 28-year-old Bangladeshis were arrested in the premises during the operation, which began at 2 pm.
“They were all detained for not having valid passes to be in the country,” he said in a statement today.
Ruslin said they also seized four Indian passports and one Pakistan passport belonging to other people, one Indian passport and one Pakistan passport believed to be fake, a Bangladesh passport as well as 26 Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS) also suspected to be forged.
They also seized two Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) cards, which are believed to be fake, two laptops and a printer.
“The syndicate’s modus operandi is to target foreign citizens, like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, who faced problems in Malaysia such as not having identification documents and visas.
“The suspects will find and get close to those with these problems before offering their services, such as fake passports, PLKS and CIDB cards,” he said.
Ruslin said the syndicate is believed to have been operating for a year and charged around RM1,000 for each passport and RM500 each for the PLKS and CIDB card.
All four are being held at the Putrajaya Immigration Depot for investigation under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passports Act 1966 and the Immigration Regulations 1963.
— Bernama
