FORGERY SYNDICATE SMASHED

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- An immigration documents forgery syndicate,
believed to be the biggest in the Klang Valley, has been smashed with the arrest
of three Bangladeshis and 10 others on the run.

The Immigration Department also arrested at 4.45pm Thursday a Malaysian
woman who owned the house where the syndicate operated, deputy director Raja
Mohamed Raja Ismail said Friday.

He told reporters here that 30 foreign passports, 817 security stickers, 43
workers cards and 15 false immigration department stamps were seized from the
house in Kuala Lumpur.

Raja Mohamed said the items were estimated to be worth more than RM3
million (US$967,741), making the seizure the biggest this year.

"We are now hunting down 10 other members of the syndicate," he added.

The syndicate is believed to have been operating for over a year, Raja
Mohamed said, adding that the arrests followed two months of surveillance.

The suspects will be charged under the Immigration Act 1963. The maximum
penalty is a fine of RM30,000 (US$9,677), 10 years jail, and six strokes of the
rotan.
-- BERNAMA