Immigration officer among eight held over illegal passport syndicate

KUALA LUMPUR: Eight locals, including an Immigration Department officer, have been arrested in an operation to dismantle a syndicate involved in illegally obtaining Malaysian passports.

The arrests were carried out at 10 locations across three states on Wednesday (Jan 14).

Immigration director-general Zakaria Shaaban said the raids were conducted at six locations in Perak, two in Melaka and two in Johor, following a month-long intelligence operation.

Those arrested included an Immigration officer suspected of facilitating the syndicate’s activities, a Malaysian believed to be a syndicate member, as well as four men and two women aged between 32 and 61. All are Malaysians.

“During the raids, several items were seized, including four birth certificates, one Malaysian passport, eight mobile phones and 13 copies of Malaysian passport application forms,” Zakaria said in a statement on Thursday.

Initial investigations revealed that two women and a man had allegedly posed as legal guardians, bringing children believed to be Sri Lankan nationals to Immigration offices to apply for Malaysian passports.

“Three other local men were found to have used their own identity cards to submit passport applications intended for adult Sri Lankan nationals,” he said.

Zakaria said the syndicate, believed to have been active since January last year, allegedly received between RM5,000 and RM7,000 for each passport successfully obtained.

“All those arrested are being investigated under the Passport Act 1966 and have been taken to Immigration offices for further action. Notices have also been issued to seven men and five women, all Malaysians, to assist in the investigation,” he added.

Zakaria said the department would continue to intensify enforcement efforts against activities that violate national laws, in line with the Malaysia Madani principles.

“We will not compromise on any form of abuse of power. Firm legal action will be taken without exception, including against our own officers,” he said.