KANGAR: A Filipino man suspected of being the “brains” behind the operations of the “Abang Botak” syndicate that produced and sold fake Malaysian identity cards (MyKad), was arrested in Manjung, Perak, on Saturday.
Also arrested during the 2am raid by the Perlis Immigration Department were nine foreigners aged between two and 57, including a married couple and their two children, aged three and six.
The operation was conducted following the arrest of a man known as “Abang Botak”, and eight other foreign men in a raid in Bukit Keteri, Padang Besar last Friday.
Perlis Immigration director Basri Othman told a media conference today that with the arrest of the 55-year-old Filipino, known as “Abang Jalak”, the department had crippled the syndicate which had been trafficking foreign nationals into Sabah.
“We also seized two genuine MyKad, one fake MyKad, two fake marriage certificates and several other cards from Abang Jalak and the foreign nationals,“ he said.
Preliminary investigations showed that the syndicate would smuggle Filipinos into Sabah via sea routes, after which they would be flown to Peninsula Malaysia once the fake identity cards, which they charge between RM500 and RM1,000 per piece, were ready. — Bernama
