PUTRAJAYA: A human trafficking and document forgery syndicate believed to have raked in at least RM100mil over more than seven years has been crippled following a series of raids.
The Immigration Department’s operation, codenamed Ops Serkap, was carried out on Monday (April 13) and Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur after six months of intelligence gathering.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said six locations across the Klang Valley were raided, leading to the arrest of nine individuals aged between 26 and 61.
“Those detained comprise three Nepalese men, three Indian nationals, a Bangladeshi man, a local man and a Vietnamese woman with permanent resident status.
“The local man and the Vietnamese woman are company directors, while a 43-year-old Nepalese man has been identified as the mastermind.
“Records show he was previously detained by Bukit Aman’s Counter Terrorism Division in 2016,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday (April 15).
Zakaria said authorities seized 111 foreign passports, 10 laptops, six mobile phones and RM3,950 in cash.
Initial investigations revealed the syndicate had been operating since 2019, posing as agents for foreign workers.
“They duped employers by claiming they could process applications on their behalf.
“Instead, they produced fake documents such as e-pass slips and stickers,” he added.
He said the syndicate charged between RM5,000 and RM6,000 for each foreign worker and is also believed to be involved in smuggling foreigners into the country illegally.
Zakaria urged employers to deal directly with the department and avoid engaging unauthorised agents.
“We do not appoint any agents to manage foreign worker applications.
“I hope employers will be mindful and not be duped by such bogus agents,” he said.
He added that some employers may have fallen victim due to the urgency of hiring foreign workers.
“We will continue investigations to track down other syndicate members still at large.
“We have also issued summonses to six individuals to assist in the investigation,” he said.
