PUTRAJAYA, Jan 12: Police arrested a Bangladeshi national, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the forging of Immigration documents, following a raid on an apartment in Cheras yesterday.
Immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said that in the 10 am operation yesterday, personnel from the Intelligence, Special Operations and Analysis Department arrested the 32-year-old, who has been on the wanted list since 2017, and another 25-year-old Bangladeshi who is believed to be the “middleman”.
He said the department had crippled a counterfeiting syndicate, which the 32-year-old masterminded, in 2017 but he managed to evade arrest before a similar activity linked to the Bangladeshi was detected in March 2020 during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“Efforts to track down the suspect went on until his arrest yesterday,” he said at a press conference today.
Khairul Dzaimee said the suspect’s modus operandi was to rent two apartments, one of which was used as a base for processing fake documents and the other as a residence.
“Both the apartments which he rented were close by to confuse enforcement agencies,” he said.
He said the suspects got their clientele by advertising their illegal services through the WhatsApp application or by using middlemen whose duty was to collect the passports or payments.
“They are believed to have obtained about 150 clients a day and most of their clientele were Bangladeshis,” he said.
The fees charges were different, with RM300 for a temporary working visit pass, RM20 for iKad and Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) cards as well as RM150 for a fake passport.
Khairul Dzaimee said they also seized various document counterfeiting equipment, including printers, computers as well as various passports and RM8,300 cash.
He said both suspects were taken to Putrajaya to undergo COVID-19 screening in compliance with the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the Ministry of Health before they were sent to the depot for further action.
The case is being investigated under Sections 55D and 56 (1)(k) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.- Bernama
