Latest news with #TemporaryEmploymentVisitPasses
Barnama
18-06-2025
- Barnama
Immigration Dept Busts Two Sticker Forgery Syndicates, Nabs Four
KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 (Bernama) -- The Immigration Department has smashed two syndicates involved in forging immigration stickers and Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS), arresting four individuals in raids at several locations across the Klang Valley last Monday. Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said all four suspects, aged between 40 and 43, were detained in a special operation in Jalan Ipoh and Maluri in Kuala Lumpur, and Petaling Jaya, Selangor following complaints and two weeks of intelligence gathering. 'In the raids conducted at 6.42 pm, the Immigration Department arrested three locals — two women believed to be the masterminds of the syndicate, and one man. Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the women and the man are civil servants,' he said in a statement today. He added that the raids led to the seizure of 101 passports from various countries, comprising 74 Sri Lankan passports, 13 Myanmar passports, six Vietnamese, two Indonesian, two Ghanaian, and one each from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Syria. Also seized were two mobile phones, a copy of a Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) registration document, and a Toyota Vellfire vehicle used by the syndicate. 'Preliminary investigations indicate that the syndicate had been operating since the end of last year, charging up to RM11,000 per foreign national for a fake PLKS. 'The syndicate altered details on the ePLKS, which did not exist in the Immigration system. All those arrested have been brought to the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya for further action. The case is being investigated under Section 12(1)(f) of the Passport Act 1966,' he said. In another raid at 11 am on the same day at two locations around Jalan Ipoh, the Immigration Department arrested a Pakistani national suspected of leading a syndicate printing fake immigration stickers. Also questioned at the premises were one local man and two local women who were conducting business there.
The Sun
18-06-2025
- The Sun
Immigration busts forged visa syndicates, 4 arrested in KL
KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department has smashed two syndicates involved in forging immigration stickers and Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS), arresting four individuals in raids at several locations across the Klang Valley last Monday. Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said all four suspects, aged between 40 and 43, were detained in a special operation in Jalan Ipoh and Maluri in Kuala Lumpur, and Petaling Jaya, Selangor following complaints and two weeks of intelligence gathering. 'In the raids conducted at 6.42 pm, the Immigration Department arrested three locals — two women believed to be the masterminds of the syndicate, and one man. Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the women and the man are civil servants,' he said in a statement today. He added that the raids led to the seizure of 101 passports from various countries, comprising 74 Sri Lankan passports, 13 Myanmar passports, six Vietnamese, two Indonesian, two Ghanaian, and one each from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Syria. Also seized were two mobile phones, a copy of a Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) registration document, and a Toyota Vellfire vehicle used by the syndicate. 'Preliminary investigations indicate that the syndicate had been operating since the end of last year, charging up to RM11,000 per foreign national for a fake PLKS. 'The syndicate altered details on the ePLKS, which did not exist in the Immigration system. All those arrested have been brought to the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya for further action. The case is being investigated under Section 12(1)(f) of the Passport Act 1966,' he said. In another raid at 11 am on the same day at two locations around Jalan Ipoh, the Immigration Department arrested a Pakistani national suspected of leading a syndicate printing fake immigration stickers. Also questioned at the premises were one local man and two local women who were conducting business there. 'Preliminary checks revealed that the Pakistani national did not possess any valid travel documents or permit to be in the country. Investigations found that the syndicate was altering and printing fake immigration stickers for sale to undocumented migrants in the country. 'They were selling the stickers for between RM100 and RM120 each, depending on the country of issue. The Pakistani suspect has been detained under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966, and Immigration Regulations 1963, and is currently held at the Immigration Depot in Putrajaya for further action. 'As for the local individuals, they have been issued notices to report to the office to assist in the investigation,' he added. Among the items seized during the raid were 12 fake visa stickers for Bangladesh, India, the United States, Indonesia and Pakistan as well as a biometric passport data page sticker for Bangladesh, a desktop computer, a laptop and a printer.
The Sun
18-06-2025
- The Sun
Immigration dept busts two sticker forgery syndicates, nabs four
KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department has smashed two syndicates involved in forging immigration stickers and Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS), arresting four individuals in raids at several locations across the Klang Valley last Monday. Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said all four suspects, aged between 40 and 43, were detained in a special operation in Jalan Ipoh and Maluri in Kuala Lumpur, and Petaling Jaya, Selangor following complaints and two weeks of intelligence gathering. 'In the raids conducted at 6.42 pm, the Immigration Department arrested three locals — two women believed to be the masterminds of the syndicate, and one man. Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the women and the man are civil servants,' he said in a statement today. He added that the raids led to the seizure of 101 passports from various countries, comprising 74 Sri Lankan passports, 13 Myanmar passports, six Vietnamese, two Indonesian, two Ghanaian, and one each from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Syria. Also seized were two mobile phones, a copy of a Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) registration document, and a Toyota Vellfire vehicle used by the syndicate. 'Preliminary investigations indicate that the syndicate had been operating since the end of last year, charging up to RM11,000 per foreign national for a fake PLKS. 'The syndicate altered details on the ePLKS, which did not exist in the Immigration system. All those arrested have been brought to the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya for further action. The case is being investigated under Section 12(1)(f) of the Passport Act 1966,' he said. In another raid at 11 am on the same day at two locations around Jalan Ipoh, the Immigration Department arrested a Pakistani national suspected of leading a syndicate printing fake immigration stickers. Also questioned at the premises were one local man and two local women who were conducting business there. 'Preliminary checks revealed that the Pakistani national did not possess any valid travel documents or permit to be in the country. Investigations found that the syndicate was altering and printing fake immigration stickers for sale to undocumented migrants in the country. 'They were selling the stickers for between RM100 and RM120 each, depending on the country of issue. The Pakistani suspect has been detained under the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 1966, and Immigration Regulations 1963, and is currently held at the Immigration Depot in Putrajaya for further action. 'As for the local individuals, they have been issued notices to report to the office to assist in the investigation,' he added. Among the items seized during the raid were 12 fake visa stickers for Bangladesh, India, the United States, Indonesia and Pakistan as well as a biometric passport data page sticker for Bangladesh, a desktop computer, a laptop and a printer.
New Straits Times
18-06-2025
- New Straits Times
Civil servants nabbed in Klang Valley fake work pass syndicate
KUALA LUMPUR: Two civil servants are among several people arrested following an Immigration Department bust on a syndicate involved in producing counterfeit stickers and Temporary Employment Visit Passes (ePLKS) in separate raids across the Klang Valley. The pair — a man and a woman — are believed to be key operatives in the syndicate, which charged foreign nationals up to RM11,000 each for the illegal service. Immigration Department director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the first raid, conducted at 11am on Sunday, targeted two premises along Jalan Ipoh. The operation was carried out by officers from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division based at Immigration headquarters in Putrajaya. "Acting on complaints and two weeks of surveillance, the team moved in and inspected the premises, where they found one man and two local women conducting transactions," he said in a statement today. Among those detained was a Pakistani man, believed to be the syndicate's ringleader. Initial checks revealed he did not possess valid travel documents or a permit to remain in the country. The team also seized 13 forged stickers, including six purportedly for Bangladesh visas, two for the United States, and one each for Indonesia and Pakistan. Also confiscated were a biometric passport sticker for Bangladesh, a desktop computer, a laptop, and a printer. Zakaria said the syndicate's modus operandi involved editing and printing fake immigration stickers, which were sold to undocumented migrants for between RM100 and RM120 each, depending on the destination country listed. "All foreign nationals arrested have been sent to the Putrajaya Immigration Depot for further action under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passport Act 1966, and the Immigration Regulations 1963. "One local man and one woman were issued notices to assist with the investigation," he said. Later the same day, at 6.42pm, the department mounted a second special operation at two separate locations — in Maluri, Kuala Lumpur, and Petaling Jaya, Selangor. "Based on public tip-offs and two weeks of intelligence, the operation team was deployed and successfully arrested two local women believed to be the main masterminds, along with one local man. "Preliminary investigations revealed that the women and the man arrested are civil servants, all aged between 40 and 43," he said. The team also seized 101 passports from various countries — including 74 from Sri Lanka, 13 from Myanmar, six from Vietnam, two each from Indonesia and Ghana, and one each from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Syria. Two mobile phones and a Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) registration certificate were also confiscated. Additionally, a Toyota Vellfire believed to have been used by the syndicate was impounded. Zakaria said the group specialised in processing ePLKS applications for foreign nationals without valid permits in the Klang Valley. "Initial checks showed that the information on the ePLKS documents had been tampered with and did not exist in the Immigration system. Each migrant was charged RM11,000. We believe the syndicate has been operating since late 2024," he said. All local suspects are being investigated under Section 12(1)(f) of the Passport Act 1966 and have been taken to Immigration headquarters in Putrajaya for further questioning.
New Straits Times
26-05-2025
- New Straits Times
Forgers earn millions from fake passports, work passes
KUALA LUMPUR: Document forgery syndicates are believed to be earning millions of ringgit each year by producing fake passports and Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS) for foreign job seekers in Malaysia. One such syndicate uncovered by the Immigration Department was reportedly charging between RM100 and RM150 per passport and capable of producing up to 100 fake passports a day. The syndicate was also found altering the biodata of undocumented foreigners to obtain approval from the Foreign Workers' Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (Fomema). Immigration Department director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban told Utusan Malaysia that certain syndicates were offering passports from specific countries to undocumented migrants using authentic passports with falsified biodata. This was done to facilitate the approval process for Fomema health screenings. Zakaria said these services were offered for around RM200 per case, including arrangements for the medical check-up at selected clinics. "There are syndicates offering forged passports specifically for Fomema purposes, charging RM100 to RM150 each. "These illegal activities are believed to produce 50 to 100 passports per day." he said. The syndicates were mainly forging passports from foreign worker source countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Indonesia. Zakaria said the syndicates typically used genuine passports belonging to other individuals, and altered the biodata and internal pages at a cost of RM1,000 to RM1,500 per passport. He said some syndicates would use the forged passport details to apply for Fomema approval, which involved an additional cost of RM600 to RM1,000 per document. "Most of these operations are based in business premises and condominiums to avoid detection and are equipped with printers to produce fake documents," he said. However, the number of passport forgery syndicates has decreased following Malaysia's shift towards digitalisation, including the adoption of e-passports and mobile passport readers. "The Immigration Department is now equipped with tools that help us determine whether a document is fake or genuine, so those with forged documents cannot escape scrutiny. "This is evident as only 27 arrests related to forged passes were made up to April this year, compared to 221 last year, while 57 arrests were recorded for fake passports in 2024."
