KUALA LUMPUR: Immigration Department officers busted a syndicate which was bringing in foreigners by passing them off as "sportsmen" with the arrests of three Bangladeshis on Thursday.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said 18 other Bangladeshi men, aged between 21 and 33, were also detained in the 10.38pm raid in the Maluri area, here.
The 18 men were believed to have been the people smuggled into the country by the syndicate.
Zakari said the raiding party, from the department's headquarters in Putrajaya, seized 18 Bangladeshi passports, RM990 in cash and an invitation letter to take part in a sports competition, including a schedule for the event.
He said the sports competition and letter were believed to be fake.
"Based on public information and intelligence-gathering for two weeks, the raiding team was despatched to the location, where they managed to detain three Bangladeshi men believed to be part of the syndicate.
"Two of these men held temporary work passes while the third was found to have overstayed."
Zakaria said the modus operandi of the syndicate was to bring in foreigners, particularly from Bangladesh, on the pretext of taking part in a sports competition.
He said the "sportsmen" would fly in wearing sports attire, complete with a return ticket, and would have booked a room at a budget hotel here a day before the competition, in an attempt to fool the authorities.
"The syndicate would charge the foreigners between RM2,000 and RM5,000 each. It is believed to have been operating for the past four months."
Zakaria said all 21 foreigners were brought to the Lenggeng Immigration depot on suspicion of having violated the Immigration Act 1959/63 and Immigration Regulations 1963.
He added that two Malaysians have been issued with notices to present themselves to the Immigration Department headquarters to assist investigations.
However, Zakaria did not say why the two Malaysians have been summoned.
He said the department would continue strictly enforcing the Immigration Act, Passprt Ac 1966, Immigration Regulations and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
Last month, a group of 29 Pakistanis who arrived at the Langkawi International Airport purportedly to participate in a running event there were deported.
The 28 men and a woman informed the Immigration Department at the airport that they were participating in a running event the following day.
However, the group raised suspicion when the Immigration officers found just "kurta", a traditional Pakistani attire, upon inspecting their bags, with no proper running gear.
It is not known, however, whether the group of Pakistanis had been brought in by the syndicated which was busted on Thursday.