ONE-ARMED MAN DETAINED IN FAKE INDONESIAN PASSPORT SYNDICATE BUST

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- A one-armed man was detained after police
crippled a fake Indonesian pasport syndicate in a raid on a shophouse at Ampang
Mewah Tuesday night.

Ampang Jaya police chief ACP Abdul Jalil Hassan said the 40 something
Indonesian man who only had a right arm was detained in the rented premise on
level four of the building.

"Initial investigation shows that the syndicate charges only RM150 (US$44)
for each fake passport and RM25 (US$7.3) for a fake employment card," he told
reporters at the scene Tuesday night.

The syndicate which produced five passports daily was believed to have
produced about 1,500 fake passports and employment cards .

Jalil said the syndicate used sophisticated equipments like scanners and
computers to make the documents seemed authentic.

"The Indonesian customers go to the shophouse to process the fake documents.
We believe the man is not acting alone and are on the trail of the other
syndicate members," he added.

He urged those having doubts over the authenticity of their passports and
employment cards to check with the Immigration Department for verification.

The case is investigated under Section 55D of Immigration Act 1959/63 for
forging documents for use as visas, permits, passes or certificates.

--BERNAMA