Immigration Busts Fake Doctor Syndicate Targeting Migrants in Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14: Malaysian authorities have dismantled an illegal medical operation involving foreign nationals posing as doctors and providing unlicensed healthcare services to migrant communities in the capital.
In coordinated raids across nine premises in Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin, Pudu, on Friday afternoon, the Immigration Department arrested 18 foreign men aged between 24 and 51, including six individuals who were pretending to be medical practitioners.
Immigration deputy director-general (Operations) Datuk Lokman Effendi Ramli said the operation was carried out by the department’s Special Tactical Team together with the Kuala Lumpur Health Department’s Pharmacy Enforcement Division after two weeks of surveillance.
According to him, the suspects operated from businesses that appeared legitimate at the front, such as sundry shops, textile stores, eateries, travel agency counters, and barber shops. However, the back areas had been converted into makeshift consultation rooms and storage facilities for illegal medicines.
Lokman Effendi said the illegal services primarily targeted Bangladeshi migrants, who were attracted by lower consultation fees and the ability to communicate easily in their native language.
Authorities seized various unapproved medicines, including drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol, as well as antibiotics and painkillers that require specialist prescriptions. Initial investigations suggest the medicines were smuggled in by Bangladeshi visitors and sold at prices ranging from RM50 to RM100.
All 18 suspects, 17 Bangladeshi nationals and one Myanmar national, were arrested under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and the Immigration Act 1959/63 for offenses including possession of illegal drugs, invalid travel documents, misuse of passes, and overstaying.
Lokman Effendi warned the public against seeking treatment from unlicensed individuals, stressing that such practices pose serious health risks and undermine public safety.