Immigration busts marriage-for-visa syndicate after raids in Putrajaya
Immigration department officers conducted the raids in Putrajaya at about 9.19am on Thursday (July 3).
Director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the raiding team detained five local men aged between 30 and 66 years old.
"Four of them are suspected to be the main masterminds while the fifth individual is believed to be acting as a middleman.
"Six Malaysian passports, 22 Chinese passports, seven from Bangladesh, three from Indonesia, two from Vietnam, and one each from Myanmar and Macau were seized.
"Among other items seized were a laptop, two printers, 26 folders containing Immigration and National Registration Department (NRD) documents, two backpacks, two vehicles and RM3,070 in cash believed to be proceeds from the syndicate's operation," he said in a statement on Saturday (July 5).
The syndicate is believed to have offered illicit immigration services, particularly for applications under the "Malaysian citizen's wife" category, as well as forged NRD documents for marriages between Malaysian citizens and foreign nationals, Zakaria said.
"Investigations revealed that their primary targets were elderly local men in the Klang Valley looking to marry foreign women.
"The syndicate charged between RM50 to RM500 per application. We believe the syndicate has been operating for about a year," he said.
All suspects are being investigated under Section 12(1)(f) of the Passport Act 1966 and have been brought to the Putrajaya Immigration office for further action, he added.
'We will continue to intensify enforcement efforts to combat any activity that violates the country's laws.
"These measures are crucial to preserving the nation's stability and prosperity for the well-being of all citizens,' he said.
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