KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department has dismantled a syndicate that used food delivery services to smuggle fake passports disguised as meal packages in order to bypass mandatory health checks for foreign workers.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the operation, codenamed Ops Serkap, was carried out simultaneously across several Klang Valley locations (Kepong, Cheras, Pudu and Puchong) on September 30.
The raid involved the department’s Special Tactical Team (Pastak) and 20 officers from the intelligence and operations division following three months of surveillance.
Three Bangladeshi men, aged 21 to 40, were detained while two local women and one local man were issued witness summonses.
Authorities also seized 30 suspected fake passports, including 24 Bangladeshi, five Indonesian and one Myanmar document, alongside 14 Fomema medical forms, a laptop, two printers and other forgery equipment.
Zakaria said the syndicate, believed to have operated for more than a year, produced fake passports by using workers’ details and photographs submitted by employers.
These were then used to falsify medical screenings, a mandatory requirement for the renewal of Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS).
“To avoid detection, the syndicate distributed the fake passports through food delivery services such as Lalamove and Grab, packaging the documents in polystyrene containers with the call sign ‘Makanan Bangla’,” he said.
The syndicate allegedly charged between RM350 and RM450 per worker for the service.
Offences identified include document forgery, impersonation, overstaying and failure to possess valid travel documents.
Those detained are being investigated under the Passport Act 1966 and Immigration Act 1959/63.
Zakaria added the department will continue stern action against offenders, including under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.