Immigration busts passport-forging syndicate
Published on: Monday, May 13, 2024
By: Bernama
Immigration department director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh displays items confiscated from a syndicate involved in the falsification of passports. (Bernama pic)
PUTRAJAYA: The immigration department busted the operations of the “Ofu Bhai” syndicate, which had been falsifying passports for the past two years, in a house in Kajang, Selangor, last Friday.
Its director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said during the operation, carried out at around 4.15pm, authorities arrested the 38-year-old Bangladeshi mastermind known as “Ofu Bhai” along with his 40-year-old Filipina accomplice.
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He said the syndicate had provided falsification services for expired passports, charging from RM1,000 to RM1,500 per passport.
“This is a new tactic where the syndicate altered only the expiry date information on expired passports while retaining the original owner’s details to mislead the authorities,” he told a press conference here today.
“The syndicate would then use the falsified passports to secure approval from the Foreign Workers Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (Fomena), with charges ranging from RM600 to RM1,000 per document.”
Rusli said a search of the premises uncovered a computer, along with 211 passports comprising 199 Bangladeshi passports, four Indian passports, three Philippine passports, three Myanmar passports and two Indonesian passports.
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They also seized 31 passport biodata cover sheets, 144 Fomema documents, various pieces of equipment used for document forgery, and RM16,000 in cash.
“A preliminary check found that the mastermind did not have travel documents or a valid passport to be in Malaysia, while his partner (the woman) was found to have overstayed,” he said.
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“We believe this syndicate may have other networks (operating) elsewhere. Most of their transactions appear to have been conducted online.”
The two suspects have been remanded for 14 days at the Putrajaya immigration depot for further investigation under Section 55D of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
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