Kuala Lumpur: The Immigration Department has dismantled two syndicates involved in the forgery of immigration stickers and Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS), resulting in the arrest of four individuals during raids conducted at various locations across the Klang Valley last Monday.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban detailed that the four suspects, aged between 40 and 43, were detained in a special operation in Jalan Ipoh, Maluri, and Petaling Jaya, following complaints and two weeks of intelligence gathering. The operation led to the arrest of three locals, including two women believed to be the masterminds behind the syndicate, and one man. Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the women and the man are civil servants.
The raids resulted in the seizure of 101 passports from different countries, including 74 Sri Lankan passports, 13 Myanmar passports, six Vietnamese, two Indonesian, two Ghanaian, and one each from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Syria. Additionally, two mobile phones, a Companies Commission of Malaysia registration document, and a Toyota Vellfire vehicle used by the syndicate were confiscated.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the syndicate has been operating since the end of last year, charging up to RM11,000 per foreign national for a fake PLKS. The syndicate altered details on the ePLKS, which were not registered in the Immigration system. All those arrested have been taken to the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya for further action, and the case is being investigated under Section 12(1)(f) of the Passport Act 1966.
In a separate raid conducted at 11 am on the same day at two locations around Jalan Ipoh, the Immigration Department apprehended a Pakistani national suspected of leading another syndicate involved in printing fake immigration stickers. A local man and two local women present at the premises were also questioned.
Preliminary checks indicated that the Pakistani national lacked valid travel documents or a permit to be in the country. Investigations revealed that the syndicate was altering and printing fake immigration stickers for undocumented migrants in the country, selling them for between RM100 and RM120 each, depending on the country of issue. The Pakistani suspect has been detained under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966, and Immigration Regulations 1963, and is currently held at the Immigration Depot in Putrajaya. The local individuals have been issued notices to report to the office to assist in the investigation.
Items seized during the raid included 12 fake visa stickers for Bangladesh, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Pakistan, a biometric passport data page sticker for Bangladesh, a desktop computer, a laptop, and a printer.