Immigration Dept nab suspected mastermind of fake visa syndicate
KUALA LUMPUR: A Pakistani man, believed to be the mastermind behind a fake visa syndicate, was nabbed following raids at two locations along Jalan Ipoh.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the raid, which began at 11am on Monday (June 16), involved officers from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division of the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya. It was the result of two weeks of surveillance and public complaints.
"During the operation, officers inspected a premises where one local man and two local women were found conducting transactions.
"A Pakistani man, believed to be the syndicate's mastermind, was also detained at the scene.
"Initial checks revealed that the foreign suspect did not possess any valid travel documents or permits to be in the country," he said in a statement on Wednesday (June 18).
Several items were seized, including 13 fake immigration stickers, with six for Bangladesh, two for India, two for the United States, one for Indonesia, one for Pakistan, and one biometric passport front label for Bangladesh, he said.
"We also seized a desktop computer, laptop, and printer used in the forgery process," he added.
Zakaria said investigations revealed that the syndicate was producing and selling counterfeit immigration stickers to undocumented migrants (PATI) residing in Malaysia.
"These forged visas were sold at prices ranging between RM100 and RM120 each, depending on the country of origin," he said.
He said all foreign nationals involved have been detained under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966, and Immigration Regulations 1963.
"They are currently held at the Putrajaya Immigration Depot for further investigation.
"We also issued notices to a local man and a local woman to report to the Immigration office to assist in the ongoing probe."
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