JOHOR BAHRU: The Immigration Department in Johor detained five Myanmar nationals suspected of being involved in a syndicate forging United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards during an operation at a shophouse in Kluang last Wednesday.
State Immigration Director Datuk Mohd Rusdi Mohd Darus said four men and a woman aged between 26 and 49, believed to be masterminds of the syndicate, were apprehended following surveillance and monitoring.
“The syndicate is believed to have been active for the past five to six years. Their targets are ethnic Rohingya foreigners who come to Kluang seeking employment and face travel document issues. The fee for the forged cards is RM5,000 each,” he told a press conference here today.
He said two Myanmar passports, 12 UNHCR cards, an Oppo smartphone, UNHCR registration forms and RM15,855 in cash were also seized during the operation.
During the raid, three Myanmar men aged 35 to 49, who had been confined for the past two weeks as they awaited employment and were instructed to wait at the premises until picked up by employers, were also discovered.
In another development, Mohd Rusdi said a human trafficking syndicate was crippled after the arrest of five Indonesian men aged 21 to 49 at an oil palm plantation workers’ quarters in Mersing at 2.20 am today.
“After a four-hour surveillance at the plantation, we managed to apprehend all five individuals as they attempted to flee, with some also hiding under beds,” he said.
Mohd Rusdi said the house was believed to be used as a transit point for smuggling activities, with the syndicate’s modus operandi involving smuggling foreigners into the country via illegal routes in Johor waters.
“The syndicate charges RM3,000 per person for this service, with an additional RM100 for delivery to the transit house before being sent to other locations,” he said, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) and Section 55E of the Immigration Act.
