PUTRAJAYA – The Immigration Department smashed a syndicate specialising in forging travel documents with the arrest of three Pakistani men in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, and Seri Kembangan, Selangor, in an operation on August 16 and 17, following three months of painstaking intelligence work.
Immigration Director-General Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the syndicate forged visas and passports, and used social media to look for customers, set up meetings and make other transactions.
Two male suspects were arrested while handing over forged documents in a car in Setapak, which led to the arrest of another man, believed to be the forger, at a luxury residential area in Taman Mesra, Seri Kembangan, on August 17.
The suspects are aged between 32 and 56, of whom two have expired social visit passes and the third has a long-term social visit pass, believed to have been forged.
Khairul Dzaimee said one of them had been deported from Canada in 2008 for immigration offences.
The syndicate specialises in producing various forged documents, which are used to boost the holder’s credibility when applying for a travel visa to a third country, he added.
“This syndicate focuses on developed countries like Japan, Canada and the United States, as the visas of these countries are of high value.”
He said the syndicate is also believed to have forged temporary work permit stickers for the past two years, with most of its customers being undocumented workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar who work in shops or the construction sector.
Customers are charged up to RM300 for a forged temporary work permit sticker, and up to RM1,000 for foreign country documents, such as visas, passports, refugee cards and driving licences, he added.
The department also seized 2,320 suspected forged documents, two computers, two printers, one laminating machine, one passport reader, five stamping plates of various countries, 20 silk screen frames of various countries and a silk screen printing table.
Khairul Dzaimee said the suspects have been arrested for committing offences under Section 55(D) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963. – Bernama, August 25, 2021
