TUMPAT: The Immigration Department today warned foreigners not to violate the country's law or risk having their documents revoked and be deported back to their country.
Its director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the foreigners who hold the Long-Term Social Visit Pass (LTSVP) would also be blacklisted from entering Malaysia if they were caught violating the rules.
"These stern actions serve as a lesson to other foreigners. The department recently detected a case with the arrest of a Pakistani man who acted as a mastermind in bringing undocumented Pakistani immigrants into the country through Thailand," he told reporters today.
Also present were Kelantan police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun and state Immigration director Azhar Abd Hamid.
Ruslin said the department believed the mastermind was hired by human trafficking syndicate smuggling to bring in illegal foreigners via Sungai Golok.
"The syndicate has been smuggling Pakistanis seeking illegal job opportunities and targeting local women for marriage," he added.
On Sept 11, the department crippled a human trafficking syndicate smuggling undocumented Pakistani immigrants into the country through Thailand after the arrest of eight Pakistani men during Ops Gelombang IV in Kelantan.
The mastermind in his 50s, a LTSVP holder, the husband of a Malaysian citizen, and a transporter in his 30s who holds a valid Temporary Employment Visit Pass (PLKS) were among those arrested.
The syndicate smuggles undocumented Pakistani immigrants on flights to Thailand. Then, it takes them through illegal routes across the Malaysia-Thailand border.
Initial investigations found that the syndicate is believed to have been active since May last year.
The mastermind charges fees ranging from RM6,000 to RM7,000 per immigrant and transports them to specific destinations outside Kelantan, such as the Klang Valley, Melaka, Penang, and Johor Baru.