Three Malaysians Arrested On Suspicion Of Being Masterminds Of Illegal Immigration Agent Syndicate

PUTRAJAYA,  Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Three Malaysians, believed to be masterminds of the illegal Immigration agent syndicate, were among eight individuals arrested in a special operation by the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) in Putrajaya, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the others arrested are believed to be the syndicate members and they comprised an Indian national man, three Vietnamese nationals (a man and two women)  and a Sri Lankan woman.

He said the eight suspects, aged between 22 and 42 years, were arrested in a two-day special operation which ended yesterday.

"The modus operandi of the syndicate is to target foreigners in the Klang Valley by offering services that deal with JIM, such as involving passports,  Social Visit Pass (PLS), Temporary Work Visit Pass (PLKS), Professional Visit Pass (PLIK) and Visa.

"The fee imposed is between RM500 and  RM1,100," he said in a statement here today.

Ruslin said a preliminary check found that the Vietnamese man had a passport that was still valid, while the two Vietnamese women and the Sri Lankan woman had overstayed. 

The Indian national man was found to have no valid travel documents, he said, adding that during the operation, the Immigration team seized a total of 209 passports issued by various countries.

He said 131 were Indian passports), Sri Lanka (22), Bangladesh (18), Indonesia (10), Vietnam (10), Nepal (eight), Pakistan (six) and Myanmar (four).

Also seized were four vehicles -  a Proton X70, a Proton Exora, a Nissan Almera and an Audi, he said.

The foreign nationals had been sent to the Bukit Jalil Immigration Depot for investigation under Section 6(3), Section 15(4) and Section 56(1)(l) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, while the Malaysian citizens, who included a woman, are being investigated for an offence under Section 12(1)(f) of the Passport Act 1966.

-- BERNAMA