JIM Smashes Document Forgery Syndicate, Seizes 119 Fake Passports in Special Operation

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Immigration Department (JIM) successfully smashed a document forgery syndicate in a Special Operation carried out on 4 August 2026 around Taman Sri Kuching and Taman Bukit Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.

The operation, which began at 11.00 pm last night, was conducted by the Intelligence and Special Operations Division, Putrajaya Immigration Headquarters, after a month of intelligence gathering.

A total of three Indonesian nationals aged between 30 and 50 were detained, comprising one man believed to have acted as the ‘mastermind’ and two other syndicate members.

As a result of the raid, JIM seized 119 passports believed to be fake, involving 85 Indonesian passports, seven Bangladeshi passports, 22 Myanmar passports, two Vietnamese passports, one Nepalese passport and two Indian passports.

Also seized were a printer, mobile phones and cash totalling RM1,500 believed to be proceeds from the syndicate’s activities.

Investigations found that the syndicate offered services to foreign nationals around the Klang Valley who wished to undergo the Foreign Workers Medical Examination (FOMEMA).

Passports were falsified, amended or modified to enable customers who had failed or were not eligible for the medical examination to use those documents during the screening process.

The syndicate is believed to have charged between RM80 and RM130 for each falsified passport.

According to JIM, this is the fifth arrest involving a syndicate using the same modus operandi and is believed to have been operating since the beginning of the year.

The ‘mastermind’ is being investigated under Section 12(1)(f) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, while the other two suspects are being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the same act. All suspects have been brought to the Putrajaya Immigration Headquarters for further action.

JIM stressed that it will continue to intensify enforcement to combat document forgery activities and any activities that violate immigration laws in order to guarantee the nation’s security and prosperity.