PUTRAJAYA: Two people, believed to be agents in the "immigration services" syndicate, have been remanded.
The two, aged 35 and 49, have been remanded for seven days until Dec 4.
Magistrate Shah Wira Abdul Halim issued the remand order applied by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Saturday (Nov 28).
MACC investigators had, on Nov 18 and 23, issued a statement looking for the two individuals.
Sources said investigators had managed to track their whereabouts and arrested the suspects at the MACC headquarters on Friday (Nov 27).
"Investigators had also managed to seize some cash and several foreign passports," said sources.
The latest arrests bring the tally of individuals detained over the syndicate's alleged activities to 65 - 39 immigration officers, 17 agents and nine civilians.
The MACC, with the cooperation of the Immigration Department, had carried out a nationwide blitz codenamed "Ops Selat" against members of the syndicate.
The syndicate, whose activities were in high demand since the MCO was imposed in March, is believed to have provided "flying passport" services where agents would collect passports belonging to foreign workers and undocumented migrants whose social visit passes had expired.
The passports would then be given the immigration exit and entry stamps by the syndicate to allow permits to be extended, which is a violation of procedures as the owner of a travel document must be present during the immigration process.
The syndicate is also said to have provided "counter facilities" at KLIA and KLIA2 for the migrants and foreigners who have been blacklisted to enter and leave the country.
It is believed that the syndicate charged between RM500 and RM6,000 for the "counter services".
The syndicate, which has been in operation since 2017, is believed to have raked in RM14.5mil.
Intelligence revealed that the syndicate had provided its “special services” to at least 30,000 foreigners and undocumented migrants over the years and is believed to be involved in international human trafficking, particularly from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
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