Seven individuals, including three Vietnamese women, were arrested in Ops Serkap for their alleged involvement in a syndicate forging immigration security stamps, Immigration Department director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban confirmed today.
The suspects — three Malaysian men, one Malaysian woman, and three Vietnamese women aged between 20 and 35 — were detained following an operation conducted in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, yesterday.
According to Zakaria, intelligence revealed that two male suspects had boarded a bus from Larkin Bus Terminal, Johor Bahru, to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) in Kuala Lumpur around midnight.
“Officers monitored their movements and tailed them to a residential unit in Seri Kembangan, believed to be the syndicate’s hideout, before making the arrests,” he said in a statement.
A search of the premises uncovered eight Vietnamese passports and two fake immigration security stamps.
Preliminary investigations found that the syndicate had been operating for about two years, targeting Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Thai nationals seeking to extend their stay in Malaysia.
“Each forged endorsement cost between RM2,500 and RM3,000,” Zakaria said, adding that many clients were unaware the documents were fake.
All suspects are being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Passport Act 1966, while the foreign nationals have been placed in the Putrajaya Immigration Depot for further action. — Bernama
