KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department has uncovered an illegal syndicate, allegedly masterminded by a Bangladeshi man, that operated for a year offering immigration services for the renewal of foreign workers’ permits.
The group is believed to have promoted its services through social media, charging between RM1,000 and RM2,000 per application.
Department director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said that, acting on public tip-offs and intelligence gathered over two weeks, an operations team comprising officers from the Putrajaya Immigration Department and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) conducted a raid yesterday at two locations in Jalan Sultan Ismail.
“The team was deployed to a shop lot and a residential unit, where they arrested a Bangladeshi man believed to be the main mastermind behind the syndicate.
“The operations team also detained three other men, nationals of Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia, who are believed to be agents,” he said in a statement today.
Preliminary checks found that the two Bangladeshi nationals, the alleged mastermind and one of the agents, are believed to be related.
Zakaria added that all four detainees are aged between 23 and 48.
Preliminary checks revealed that three of them held valid employment passes, while the Indonesian man had overstayed his visa.
He said the operations team also seized a local authority licence, company documents, a Companies Commission of Malaysia certificate, business records, 48 copies of Bangladeshi passports, two copies of Indian passports, six copies of Indonesian passports, two copies of Pakistani passports and RM2,400 in cash.
Zakaria added that all of them were detained on suspicion of committing offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passport Act 1966, and the Immigration Regulations 1963.
They are currently being held at the Putrajaya Immigration Depot for further action.
He said the case is also being investigated by DBKL under Section 20(1)(e) of the Licensing of Trade, Business and Industry (Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) By-Laws 2016 for conducting activities on business premises that do not comply with the licensed business activity.
Zakaria added that the case is also being investigated under Section 79(1) of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 for constructing internal partitions to create rooms or office space without DBKL’s approval.
Two local men were issued notices to appear at the Immigration Department office to assist with the investigation.
“The department will continue to take strict action against any party found to have committed offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passport Act 1966, the Immigration Regulations 1963, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM),” he said.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
