It arrested two Africans, believed to be the masterminds of the syndicate, in a special operation around Kuala Lumpur and Selangor on Oct 25.

Immigration director-general Ruslin Jusoh said a 46-year-old Nigerian, believed to be the main mastermind, was arrested in Kajang, Selangor, after two weeks of observation.

The second suspect, aged 56, from Ghana, was arrested along Jalan Kasturi here.

Following the arrest of the main mastermind, the team raided the suspect’s house along Jalan Chan Sow Lin and seized 10 fake Nigerian passports and a fake student passport sticker.

“The suspect confessed that he had obtained the student identification documents (ID) from a Ghanaian man,” Ruslin said in a statement today.

During the arrest of the second suspect, the team found a fake student ID card on him. Two more fake student ID cards and six fake immigration i-cards were recovered during checks at the suspect’s residence in Cheras.

Ruslin said the enforcement team also seized a fake United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ID card and seven student ID cards for various universities and colleges in the Klang Valley.

He said the syndicate targeted Africans who had problems such as lack of identity documents and visas.

They then offered their services to produce the required documents, such as passports, student passports, labour cards, i-cards, UNHCR cards and fake student IDs.

The syndicate charged about RM1,000 for each passport and RM200 for other documents.

Both suspects have been detained at the Putrajaya immigration depot under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passports Act 1966 and the Immigration Regulations 1963.