JOHOR BARU: Two foreigners have been detained for allegedly forging passport stamps to help those who have overstayed in the country.
Johor Immigration director Baharuddin Tahir said the two suspects, one from Pakistan and the other from India, were picked up near the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) customs, immigration and quarantine complex here at around 6pm on Sunday (March 24).
"(Their customers are) foreigners who overstayed in Malaysia or have issues renewing their work permit.
"During the operation, the Pakistani suspect was in the driver’s seat of a car while the Indian national was beside him as a lookout.
"The car had stopped at the BSI taxi stand, seemingly waiting for a customer.
"After arresting the suspects, aged 30 and 35, we found five Indian passports, six Pakistani passports, RM3,455.50 and various foreign currencies amounting RM474.45," he told a press conference at state Immigration headquarters here on Wednesday (March 27).
Baharuddin said the suspects charged around RM650 to RM3,000 for the illegal services.
"The passports in their possession seem to be valid but we are investigating the documents as well as the authenticity of the stamps," he said.
The department would also investigate to see if any of its personnel were involved, he added.
The suspects were detained under Section 56(1)(l) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for using or possessing a fake social visit pass, and Section 12(1)(f) of the same Act for possessing the passports or travel documents of others without a valid reason.
