PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department has crippled a one-man operation forging immigration documents for Myanmar and Bangladesh nationals, raking in more than RM360,000 a year.
Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the Myanmar man known as Ayake, in his 30s, was arrested while on his way to deliver the forged documents to his customers at Dataran Merdeka on July 13.
The Immigration team also seized RM26,000 found in his Honda CRV.
Following the arrest, the authorities raided the man's house in Sentul where they discovered computer and printing devices used for his illicit activities.
Forged documents and cash of RM1,500 were also seized during the raid.
"He promotes his services via WhatsApp to Myanmar and Bangladesh nationals in Klang Valley who have issues with their papers.
"He works alone, from promoting and producing to delivering the forged documents, in order to avoid detection," he said in a press conference today.
Among the documents forged were Myanmar passports, temporary work visit pass, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards, Myanmar marriage declaration certificate, and also Myanmar driving licences.
He would charge between RM200 and RM1,000 per document.
The man is detained at the Immigration Depot in Putrajaya for 14 days to facilitate the investigation under Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act and Section 12(1)(f) of the Passport Act.
"We believe he has been active for several years but cannot ascertain specifically when he entered the country illegally. His own passport is fake.
"We are also in the midst of identifying his customers and will arrest them for possessing fake documents.
"There are about 10 more days of his detention, so we hope to uncover more details pertaining to the case," he said while refuting suggestions that the man was assisted by an insider.
Ruslin also said that the Immigration Department has nullified 11 document-forging operations this year.