KUALA LUMPUR: A father and son, believed to have forged Immigration passes and cards, have been arrested in a raid on a shop lot in Chow Kit here.
It is believed the duo has been operating since early this year under the guise of running a photography and watch shop.
Among the cards and passes they allegedly forged are electronic visitor's pass (temporary employment) or PLKS slips, temporary work permits for foreign workers (PLKS) slips, i-KAD, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) worker cards and even Malaysian identity cards.
Kuala Lumpur Immigration director Wan Mohammed Saupee Wan Yusoff said the raid was conducted at about 7pm on Tuesday (May 20) in an operation codenamed Ops Serkap.
"The operation involved 15 officers after a month of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
"We detained both men, aged 60 and 34, in the raid.
"They are suspected of forging documents and cards and selling them to foreigners and foreign worker agents.
"The foreigners are from various countries, including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar," he told a press conference at KL Immigration headquarters on Wednesday (May 21).
The suspects would communicate with prospective customers via WhatsApp, he added.
"Customers will then be asked to provide a passport photo and make payments online or in cash.
"They would charge customers between RM60 and RM140, depending on the complexity of each job.
"For example, an e-PLKS slip would cost much less than a forged MyKad or MyKid," he said.
The items seized in the raid included fake i-KADs, 50 counterfeit e-PLKS slips, forged MyKad and MyKid cards, a card printing machine, 100 blank cards, a photocopier, mobile phones and RM4,000 in cash, he added.
"Their fake cards include chips as well as hologram stickers and would appear genuine.
"However, when scanned, the cards will not work," he said.
"We are not ruling out the possibility that they may have customers from outside the Klang Valley too," he added.
The suspects are being investigated for money laundering in addition to Immigration offences, Wan Mohamed Saupee said.
"We are checking their bank transactions. We believe they earned big profits from this illegal business," he added.
