Johor: The Johor Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) arrested a local man believed to be an agent for a 'flying passport' syndicate in an operation codenamed Ops Serkap at a condominium in Taman Daya here on Jan 29.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the operation, which took place at 6.50 pm, was conducted based on intelligence gathered by the Enforcement Division over nearly two weeks. During the raid, the team seized nine foreign passports allegedly used as travel documents for entering and exiting the country. It is believed that these passports were used to obtain security stamps illegally.

The man, aged 44, was arrested under the Passport Act 1966 (Act 150) and is currently under investigation. Datuk Mohd Rusdi Mohd Darus, JIM's director, emphasized that the department takes any form of passport misuse seriously and will not compromise on activities that could threaten national sovereignty.

The public has been advised not to hand over their passports to any unauthorized party and to report any information regarding such activities to the Johor Malaysian Immigration Department immediately.