PUTRAJAYA: A syndicate that has been offering “travel pass extensions” has been busted after the Immigration Department conducted seven raids in Cheras, Mid Valley City, Desa Pandan, Taman Midah, Sungai Besi, Sepang and Bandar Enstek on Aug 15.
“After conducting a two-week investigation, the operation team apprehended four Malaysians, identifying two as the primary leaders of the group.
Two more Chinese nationals, both women, were also caught on suspicion of being syndicate members,” said Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh at a press conference at the department’s special operations and intelligence headquarters here yesterday.
During the raids, one Chinese and one Filipino, believed to be “customers”, were also caught.
“All of the detainees were between 33 and 53 years old. Checks showed that all foreigners detained did not have valid travel documents,” he said.
A total of 107 passports were seized, of which 100 were Chinese passports. One was found to be from the Dominican Republic.
“We will trace the owners, as some have been found to have expired entry passes. For the record, handing over your passports to another party is also an offence,” he said.
The department also seized RM57,260 and 29,660 Thai baht (RM3,773.55) in cash, alongside five cars.
Investigations showed that the syndicate would limit human interaction with their customers by primarily using messaging applications like WeChat to operate.
Fees for the “passes” ranged from RM1,200 to over RM15,000, depending on the “type” purchased.
“All transactions and dealings were done by courier services. It is believed that this group has been active for a month,” he said, adding that investigations were still ongoing to determine the scope of the group’s activities and if there had been any inside help by government agency employees, especially the Immigration Department itself.
When asked why such syndicates have customers willing to pay expensive prices, Ruslin said it’s possible that some might have overstayed while others did not want to wait for the official process to take place.
Illegal travel extension: Ruslin (centre) said that the syndicate had offered fake travel pass extensions to foreigners, during the press conference at Home Ministry in Putrajaya. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
Ruslin reiterated that the Immigration Department had never appointed agents to extend passport passes.
Citing an example of a foreigner who had to overstay due to medical issues, he said that granting an extension costs only around RM100 if done at the department.
In an unrelated matter, Ruslin said that an investigation has been launched in response to a TikTok video alleging rude service by an immigration officer at a counter.
“At this moment, we are still studying the matter to see if there is a need to call the maker of the video to assist investigations,” he said.
In the video, TikTok user Rossneeda recounted an encounter at an immigration counter where she claimed an officer had scolded two women.
She added that when she intervened to call attention to the rude treatment, she received a dismissive response.
Ruslin said he takes complaints about misconduct seriously and has put systems in place to investigate them, including forwarding them directly to his email.
“My email address is public knowledge, and complaints have also been sent to me directly,” he said, adding that action will be taken if the misconduct is proven.
He added that the Public Complaints Management System (SISPAA) was also there to accept complaints.
When asked about raid statistics, Ruslin said that between Jan 1 and Aug 16, the department had conducted 11,903 operations.
“Of that total, we have arrested 29,030 illegal immigrants. We also arrested 900 employers within the same time frame.
“Moving forward, we will identify employers who hire illegal immigrants. We see out there the growing number of illegal immigrants working. Who is contributing to this number by hiring them?
“It’s the employers. If they do not hire, we won’t see them at the shops,” he said, adding that employers have to be responsible.
