Two individuals were apprehended in Kajang after a fake passport syndicate was busted

PUTRAJAYA: An organisation that manufactured and sold fictitious passports to unauthorised immigrants was busted by the Immigration Department.

The group’s mission was hampered, according to Immigration Director-General Datuk Ruslin Jusoh, when two suspects were apprehended on Friday, May 10, during a raid in Kajang.

“Ofu Bhai,” a 38-year-old Bangladeshi guy, is suspected of being the mastermind.

“A Filipino woman in her 40s who was thought to be his assistant was also arrested,” he said on Monday, May 13, at a press conference held at the Home Ministry here.

According to Ruslin, the department had observed that multiple foreign nationals halted during raids and produced shady passports.

He remarked, “We did more research and discovered that they had actually been bought from a syndicate.”

According to investigations, the syndicate would attach a fictitious data page with the user’s information to real passports that had expired.

“It is a real passport—the information is fictitious. The front page, which includes all of your information like your full name, home address, and passport number, is created by the syndicate.

He claimed that “they would use older passport versions that are easier to alter and do not use polycarbonate.”

Each fake would cost between RM1,000 and RM1,500, he continued.

In order to get permission from the Foreign Workers’ Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (Fomema) for RM600 to RM1,000 per document, the syndicate would also use the fictitious biodata on the passport.

“It is believed that they have been active for around two years,” he stated.

The two accused are under 14 days of remand.

Inquiries were still on, Ruslin said, to find out if the syndicate has any more members.

He went on, “We think there will be more suspects.”

When asked if a QR code immigration clearance system would be implemented, especially in Johor, Ruslin replied that it was being tested.

“We are testing it now that we have examined it. The Home Ministry will make an announcement, he said, stressing that any new system that is put into place must not sacrifice security.