PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department has crippled a passport forgery syndicate in special operations at Jalan Jelawat and Jalan Razak Mansion, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the raids began at 9.40 am after three weeks of intelligence work by the department’s Intelligence and Special Operations Division.
He said five Bangladeshi men aged 19 to 41 were arrested, including two believed to be the syndicate’s masterminds. Three held Temporary Employment Visit Passes, one had a student pass, and another had no valid documents.
The raiding party also seized eight Bangladeshi passports, one Indian passport, several suspected fake Bangladeshi and Indonesian passports, passport pages and covers, printing equipment, cutting tools, 11 mobile phones, RM2,100 in cash and a Perodua Aruz vehicle.
Zakaria said the forged passports were mainly used to bypass FOMEMA health screenings. Clients would use fake passports showing their real faces but altered details, then discard the documents after use, with each sold for RM150 to RM250.
He said the syndicate rotated fake passports across different clinics where the same individual could attend Clinic A under one identity, then use another passport at Clinic B, and so on, making detection difficult.
Zakaria said investigations revealed the group operated from luxury residences to avoid suspicion and relied on Bangladeshi agents to secure clients, adding that the syndicate is believed to have been active for about three months.
All detainees are being held under Section 56(1)(l) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 and brought to the Immigration headquarters in Putrajaya.
Zakaria said the department will continue firm enforcement against syndicates that undermine national security and sovereignty. - Bernama
